


Aftermath of Autumn

by EsseR3xinaLives



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2018-10-15 01:28:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 69,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10547722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsseR3xinaLives/pseuds/EsseR3xinaLives
Summary: It's been six months since the fall of Beacon Academy and many are still grieving and recuperating from the tragedies of the event.Mostly a collection of dialogues between characters as they work through coming to terms with the loss and tragedies at Beacon occurring after volume 4, as well as some non-canon additions that I thought could make a interesting dynamic.





	1. Gift of the Gods

**Author's Note:**

> So after watching Volume 4 of RWBY I decided to think through character and relationship developments that would be interesting to watch for in Volume 5. This is mostly just me writing drabble on how I think the fall of Beacon should affect all the characters since I felt like all the characters were in an unnaturally cheery mood throughout Volume 4 after Pyrrha and Penny died, Yang lost her arm and the school was destroyed. This may also be me making the characters relieve their hurt of Volume 3 since I was severely offended by the first Chapter of Volume 4. Seriously, Ruby's making fun of Jaune's Pumpkin Pete's hoodie when the first time we're introduced to Pyrrha she's described as being the star athlete on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's cereal box! I now need that hoodie as it would be stained with my tears as I continue to grieve the incredible being that is Pyrrha. *Sniff.* On a more related note, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ THE VIOLENCE PART SKIP DOWN TO THE LINE. As far as the language, that's just embedded in Emerald's dialogue, but there's only one instance if you want to just ignore it. Also, I feel it necessary to add that this fic has discussions of racism throughout the story, but I tried to gear those discussions towards awareness. If anyone finds a problem with the portrayal of Emerald or how I shaped her background around issues surrounding race, please let me know how I can fix it, Anyways, I hope people enjoy the fic.

“I’ll be right back!” the young girl shouted over her shoulder as she bolted down the hallway to retrieve her beloved board game before some bumbling bystander has the chance to claim such a prize as their own.  However, before Ruby could even fully face the direction her legs were carrying her to, she wound up colliding with some other kind of passerby that pushed her back into a sitting position.

“Sorry,” the young girl muttered, still slightly disoriented from the crash.  She looked up to see the crimson eyes of the victim of her carelessness before she asked, “Are you… okay?”

“I’m fine,” the darker woman stated while extending her hand to the younger girl.  “Just watch where you’re going.”

“Oh… right… sorry,” the cloaked reaper began to mumble as she got back to her feet and lightly brushed herself off.  The girl tried to figure out if she had seen the mintette before, but figured that she hadn’t since she would have remembered seeing someone with eyes that red.  Red was her favorite color after all.  But she was getting sidetracked in her stammering and needed to find something to say.  An introduction was probably a good start.  “I’m Ruby.  Are you new?”

“Visiting from Haven, actually,” a mellifluous voice resounded throughout the corridor as the crimson-eyed woman took a step to the side to reveal a shorter, dark haired woman.  The latter stepped forward, taking the place of the student that Ruby had bumped into and gazed upon Ruby with a knowing smirk.

Something about the woman seemed… off?  Or maybe it was that she seemed more familiar than out of place.  Perhaps a combination of both?  Ruby couldn’t quite figure it out as she narrowed her eyes trying to analyze the woman before her.  Why would they be here from somewhere as faraway as, oh wait!

“Oooh! You’re here for the festival!” Ruby basically bubbled at the thought of the tournament, “Oh! But exchange students have their own dormitory.”

“I guess we just got turned around.”  The silent silver-haired boy casually stated.

“Oh, don’t worry, happens all the time.”  Ruby awkwardly reassured as she gave a slight chuckle.  She held out her forearms, perpendicularly to her body like a compass, “You’re building is just...” she turned her body until her forearms were finally drawn to the direction their poles had magnetized to before finishing her directions.  “East of here!”

The dark woman and the silver-haired boy took Ruby’s distraction with her own antics as their opportunity to brush past her and leave while the flaming eyed shorter woman brushed her hand against Ruby’s shoulder to look her in the eyes.  “Thanks, maybe we’ll see you around,” the shorter woman evenly stated as she moved past Ruby to catch up with the rest of her team.

“Yeah… maybe…” Ruby mumbled more to herself than to anyone else.  She still couldn’t shake the feeling that she had seen that woman before, and something about that touch felt…

 _No_  Ruby convinced herself.  She was overthinking it.  It was very unlike her to be suspicious of anyone without proper reason, and they seemed nice enough.  Oh, right, and where were her manners!  She turned towards the departing students, raised her hand and was about to send the trio a warm welcome to Beacon when a single thought derailed that plan of action and her hand began to falter.

“Cinder?”

The three students paused and turned towards Ruby, who had spoken that one word so softly that she wondered if they had more felt the word than heard it.  In any case, it got their attention which was all Ruby really cared for.  The young huntress in training steeled herself as she looked Cinder dead in the eye and asked, “What are you doing here?”

The stoic woman turned her head to look at her two companions and raised her arm up.  Taking this as their cue, the two followed the silent orders and continued their retreat further down the hallway before it took a turn to their left.  Ruby’s expression softened as her gaze followed the two disappearing behind the next wall, but not before crimson looked back at silver fleetingly, before vanishing altogether.

Cinder loosed a soft chuckle before teasing the younger girl.  “Are you sure it was me that you wanted to talk to?  Because it seems to me that there’s someone else that you’re rather quite smitten with.”

“Shut up!”  The cloaked warrior shouted with a rage and ferocity she must have asked to borrow from her sister for just this moment.  Ruby flung Crescent Rose out from its resting place on the back of her belt as it unraveled into its scythe form.  “Answer my question!  What are you doing here?!”

Cinder chuckled a little louder this time before replying, “My you really are such an amusing child aren’t you?  But I think by now we both know what it is I’m doing here.  There’s no point in denying it now that it’s already too late to stop it.”  The malicious woman locked eyes with Ruby with a tilt of her head and a sinister smirk.  “Unless, you think _you_ can stop it.”

Eyelids shot open from their narrowed position to reveal a frenzied silver as Ruby let out a ferocious roar and lunged towards Cinder.  The woman was completely unfazed however, as she waited for Ruby’s oncoming attack with that confident smirk that just needed to die!  But before Ruby could bring her wrath down on the villain through her scythe, the dark haired sorceress circled her arms in front of her body with palms out and, with a sweeping motion of her arms, sent a circular blast of flame flaring forward that sent Ruby flying back where she had launched herself from.

Ruby’s determination could not be defeated that easily as she allowed herself to roll backwards before landing on her feet and using her scythe to steady herself.  However, once she regained her balance, the young huntress-in-training saw that the flames that pushed her away had latched themselves onto the hallway walls, forcing the serene scene of the dorm hallway to deteriorate until the world she knew and loved was replaced with the last memory she would ever have of the school.  The flames died after their ravenous meal of Ruby’s latest home, and all that was left was the broken rooftop of the once great Beacon Academy.  Griffons and Nevermores were stalking the skies like vultures waiting for prey, and the air was filled with the screeches of the monsters as well as the screams of the citizens of Vale.

Ruby turned her gaze back to Cinder.  The cloaked girl’s hands clenched against the hilt of Crescent Rose as a single thought spread through her mind like a poison.  “THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!”

The dark haired sorceress chuckled before she responded in a tone like honey and daggers.  “Oh, that is quite rich!  But tell me Ruby, do you honestly believe that?”  The temptress began to stride towards the younger girl in a tantalizing fashion.  “Of course not.”  A clacking came with every statement that followed like the sound of bullets shooting into Ruby’s soul.  “It was  _your_ fault that Penny died.  Your fault that Pyrrha followed.  Your fault that Yang lost her arm.  Your fault your team fell apart.  Your fault that Beacon fell and that countless people died.”  Cinder was directly in front of the young crimsonette now who could only turn her head away and cringe with every statement that Cinder said.

Ruby winced and tried to step backward, but felt her foot crossing the boundary of the ledge that kept her on the roof.  Cinder smirked at the trembling girl’s futile display.  It’s not like one could run from the truth.  She took another step forward where she was a hair’s breadth away from pressing into Ruby.  “You could’ve recognized me from Torchwick’s airship in that moment we ran into each other in the hallway.  Why else torture yourself by reliving that moment?  You know you could’ve reported me then, voiced your suspicions, or maybe had one of your teammates spy on me to confirm those suspicions and sneak the idea into Ozpin’s head.  You could have done just about anything, but instead you decided to befriend us.  Trust us.  And that trust lead to the destruction of this school, to the deaths of so many people.  The people that you were dreaming and training to save!”

“Shut up…” Ruby could barely whimper, but of course Cinder wouldn’t stop her torment now.  In fact, her smirk grew wider and she leaned in closer to the ear that Ruby left so conveniently exposed with both her shortened hair on her right side as well as her attempt at tuning Cinder out by shutting her eyes and turning her face away from the temptress.  Conveniently for Cinder’s silver-tongued words to sliver smoothly like a snake through the young girl’s ear into her mind where the serpent would inject its poison.

“You can’t save anyone Ruby.  It’s your fault their gone.”

“SHUT UP!!!!!”

Crescent Rose came boring down on Cinder in a diagonal slash, but Cinder dodged the attack and continued to back handspring away to regain some distance from the young huntress in training.  Of course, Ruby wasn’t planning on letting the villain get away again.  Instead, she swung her scythe behind her and fired so the recoil would launch her forward.  She could still save everyone!  She could still stop Cinder!  It’s not too late to…

Ruby collapsed to the ground.  Cinder had pulled out her daggers to cut Ruby twice as she propelled through the air.  The fallen warrior tried desperately to get back up.  She had to continue the fight!  It was no use though, her arms wobbled beneath her and she fell onto her elbows.  Cinder strode idly to Ruby’s side, rolled the girl onto her back with the her foot and dug her heel into the fresh wound that cut through Ruby’s chest from her shoulder to the hip.

Ruby screamed from the pain as Cinder continued to push her heel further into her prey’s bleeding chest, the devious smirk never daring to leave her face lest it miss a single moment of the helpless girl's agony.  But, despite the situation, the cloaked warrior refused to give up.  She grunted and tried to push the waves of unconsciousness away as she raised a weak hand that could barely grip at Cinder’s ankle that pushed the offending object deeper into her flesh.  She did her best to glare at her assailant as she heavily panted from the strain her body was going through.  Cinder lightly chuckled at the hopeless acts of defiance as she pulled her heel out slight only to thrust it deeper into Ruby’s chest.

The young girl threw her head back and howled at the pain this time.  Her grip tightened just slightly around Cinder’s ankle as her head was thrown back and her body instinctively squirmed beneath the cruel sorceress in a pathetic attempt to get away from the merciless woman.

“It was unfortunate what happened to the school, your friends, all the citizens of Vale.  I know how much it hurt you to watch them all struggle and be completely helpless to save them.”

More gasps of pain and hitches of her breath were all Ruby could respond with.  If only that damned heel weren’t pinning her down, digging through her torn flesh and muscles as if spelunking for an organ to puncture.  Perhaps the heel would stab through her heart, but Ruby knew that couldn’t be the case.  Not only was Cinder’s heel more centered at the helpless girl’s chest, but that last statement basically confirmed that Cinder already knew Ruby’s heart was broken.  Still it stabbed deeper like a knife into Ruby as Cinder leaned forward to better gaze down at the young girl and relish in the screams of pain her prey offered her as Ruby tried to direct her gaze again at the woman.  Cinder simply smirked before pitting her silver tongue against the young girl’s silver eyes for the last time.

“But don’t worry Ruby, when I’m through with you, you’ll _never_ have to worry about seeing anyone else suffer again.”

A grimace crossed the scythe wielder’s face at the same time an evil smile possessed the sorceress’.  A bare hand released a ravenous inferno at the same time a single word ripped from the lips of the girl being burned as a sacrifice to a new world.

“CINDER!!!!”

* * *

 

Ruby’s eyes flew open as she jolted forward sitting upright.  Quick, panicked gasps for air were the only sound that broke the once calm and peaceful night that had descended upon Mistral.

Mistral… That’s right, Ruby had made it to Mistral.  She was there with her uncle Qrow and the remaining members of Team JNPR.  They had journeyed across the entire continent of Anima on foot to reach the kingdom's walls and are currently residing in the relative safety of the hotel they checked into.

Only, nothing seemed to be able to save Ruby from her nightmares.

Ruby sighed and looked out the window of her room.  There were no signs that the sun would be rising anytime soon, which was a shame since Ruby was certain she wouldn’t be getting anymore sleep that night.  Jaune had also seemed to be having a hard time sleeping as Ruby would often catch him doing late night training in the impossibly small hours of the morning.  Honestly, she was half shocked that they hadn’t simply collapsed of exhaustion in the middle of the road while Grimm feasted on their unconscious bodies.  Guess she was lucky that Qrow was following them to clear out the Grimm so that they could simply lay passed out in the middle of mountain passages in peace.

Ruby shook her head violently, letting those images fall out of her ears before she promptly got out of bed.  She needed to find someplace with fresh air that wasn’t stifling with expired nightmares and dreadful thoughts.

The young warrior quickly changed into her combat gear and snuck quietly out in hopes of not waking her older sister whom she was sharing a room with.  Ruby’s gaze lingered on Yang’s sleeping form for a minute however.  There was a time when Ruby would have crawled into the blonde’s bed, tugged on her shirt and simply gaze at her with heart-broken eyes about some moment of her mom’s death haunting her in her sleep.  And Yang would never hesitate to lift the covers and pull Ruby into the tightest and warmest embrace that no nightmare could possibly penetrate.

But that was back before… everything.  The hyper-active scythe wielder was so ecstatic when Yang pulled up on Bumblebee and stated that she was there to help them fight and keep Ruby out of too much trouble, but something seemed… dimmer about Yang.  She didn’t have that impossibly bright smile and personality that could rival the sun in its intensity, but instead she just seemed…. Bitter… and distant.  She didn’t talk as much and everyone could tell that her smile and laugh were barely a fragment of the flame that Yang used to bring light and warmth to everyone’s life.  There were even times when Yang would snap at her younger sister, which was always followed by a quick apology and an explanation that she wasn’t feeling that great, but the once boisterous brawler continued to distance herself from Ruby and the others.  The younger girl couldn’t help but feel like her older sister had become… cold, and that terrified the red themed sibling.

How could a fire be cold unless it was burnt out?

Silver eyes began to water before they were forced away from golden hair towards the hotel hallway.  Ruby was supposed to be getting away from the stifling suffocating air of insufferably dark imaginings.  The young girl shut the door harder than intended and bolted away from the room.  She silently hoped that she hadn’t woken Yang, but then figured, given the way everyone had been since the fall of Beacon, Yang probably woke up with some nightmare and was just pretending to sleep because the blonde still wanted to uphold the image of the unshakable guardian.  To try to convince everyone that she could still fight on the front lines and protect all of them.

Ruby shook her head and picked up the pace.  She was half tempted to use her semblance to get further away, but it wouldn’t matter.  She had left Patch because after what had happened at Beacon she felt like she had to move forward.  She couldn’t let the pain that was suffered that night hold her back from her dreams, she had to continue moving onwards.

If only the pain didn’t follow her.

Eventually, Ruby found herself on the rooftop of the hotel.  She sat down to gaze up at the crumbling moon.  Everyone, including the red-cloaked warrior was falling apart with the despair of what had happened at Beacon shattering their souls like glass as they all simply stumbled around looking for the right pieces.

Even the moon seemed to be broken up about what happened to Beacon.

Is that what was wrong with everyone?  With everything?  That it was all broken?  That the people, the moon, the very world was broken?

So then how did one fix… everything?

Ruby sighed and looked down towards the streets and alleys beneath her feet when she thought she saw something… familiar?

The young warrior’s heart beat harder against her chest, she wasn’t exactly sure what to attribute that to but she thought she saw…

As if sensing being caught, the familiar something tucked itself behind an alleyway and Ruby’s gaze locked to the position.  She ran to the side of the roof to use the fire escape down to a lower elevation that would allow the scythe wielder to jump down quickly without the use of Crescent Rose.  Sure, Ruby always had her precious weapon with her, but given it being some unknown time in the night, she decided that gunshots in the middle of downtown Mistral would probably not be welcome to everyone else’s peaceful slumber.

Landing softly, but not quite noiselessly onto the concrete sidewalk, the young girl set out to find whatever apparition had appeared from behind the alleyway.  Ruby wasn’t sure if she wanted what she thought she had seen to be real or not.  Sure there was a time… but things were different now.  Things had changed.

Ruby had changed.

The young warrior turned the corner, hand ready to grab her lifeline weapon in case her beliefs were proven true… and maybe false.  The alleyway turned a little further in, but only in one direction.  Was this an ambush?  Should she call the others for help?  But then again, what if this was just some illusion from her ruminations?  Or a clawing remnant of that nightmare?

Finally steeling herself and making her decision, the reaper pulled her scythe and stepped forward.  She was the fearless leader of Team RWBY after all.  Of course, she was now a leader with no team, but maybe if she proved her fearlessness then they would all come back.  Yang did… in a sense.

Ruby took a deep breath and rounded the corner fully, swinging the blade of Crescent Rose downward so its tip was lodged in the ground with the sniper’s barrel pointed towards her target.  It really was _her_.

“Emerald.”

Ruby growled the name, eyes narrowed with the same fury that she had harbored in her dream.  The woman in question cast her gaze downward before slowly raising her head to better meet the slivers that shot her like bullets through the barrel of Crescent Rose.

“Ruby…”

The voice was hesitant, cautious and gentle.  As if the voice itself were walking on broken glass, or it could shatter everything that was already broken into even more pieces that Ruby couldn’t fix.  Ruby tightened her grip on her scythe in case a fight were provoked by what she would ask.  “What are you doing here?”

Emerald let out a deep sigh and held as much of Ruby’s gaze as she could with them being mostly furrowed with her fury.  “I…”  She began and saw Ruby tense at the sound, solidifying her firing stance against the woman.  The older woman turned her head away and clenched her crimson eyes, unsure if it was because of feeling guilty that she didn’t have a better answer, or fear that Ruby would attack because she wouldn’t like it.  Regardless she voiced her answer, “I don’t know.”

“WHAT?!”  The shrill voice of the young teenager rang out.  It was accurate to say that Ruby was unhappy with the answer, but instead of firing on the presently unarmed woman, dropped her fighting stance and raised her arms up to show that, apparently, her appendages weren’t pleased with the answer either.  “What kind of an answer is THAT?!”

Emerald clenched her fists and hardened her gaze towards the younger girl before shouting, “It’s an honest answer alright!  I don’t know what I’m doing!”  Ruby turned her head, choosing to now be concerned about anyone nearby being awoken by their yelling, but turned back to let her silver eyes clash with crimson.  Red eyes retreated upward from the glaring war with the mintette leaning against a nearby wall and slumping into a sitting position while a soft, more dejected voice rang through the alley.  “Honestly, I don’t know what I’ve been doing for a while now.”

Ruby’s expression softened, before she berated herself for such weakness.  She wasn’t going to let her emotions get ahold of her that easily.  She wasn’t going to be so naïve and simply believe all people were good again.  Her nightmare reminded her just how well that went last time.

But… her nightmare also focused on Cinder being the mastermind behind it all.  _Cinder_ killed Pyrrha.  _Cinder_ killed Penny.  And this was _Emerald_.  Emerald who after the Grimm from Mountain Glenn had breached Vale, helped to destroy the monsters and found Ruby right after to ensure she and her team were okay.  The same Emerald who watched all of Team RWBY’s fights and complimented them after each match they had been in.  The same Emerald that Ruby so desperately wanted to learn more about, maybe over victory food or… Or maybe Emerald was just using her, and Ruby needed to remember that she was the enemy.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  The cloaked warrior asked, keeping a tight grip on Crescent Rose, but not returning to a firing stance.

Crimson flashed through the night to find the matching color that Ruby sported, before turning away.  “Ruby, did you choose to be a huntress?”

“Well, duh?”  Ruby deadpanned, “Why else would I be one if I didn’t choose to?”

A humorless chuckle escaped Emerald’s lips before she replied numbly, “You’re lucky.  You have no idea how many people see choice as a blessing from the gods as opposed to a power that the gods made innate in all people.”

Ruby tried to wrap the logic around in her head, but it was late, and it’s not like she was in school anymore where she had to figure out the answers on her own in order to get a good grade.  Her school was destroyed.  But, this could be important.  Wasn’t choice supposed to be one of those relics that was guarded by the school?  Did Emerald know about it?  Maybe where it was?

“What do you mean?”  Ruby asked, deciding a more neutral approach may get Emerald to open up more.

Emerald looked up at the girl before turning away.  No matter how many times she sought out Ruby’s presence with her gaze she couldn’t hold it long without all her sins coming to the forefront of her mind.  “You know the story of the two brothers?  That whole theology of creation, destruction, knowledge and choice?”

Ruby moved to sit down next to Emerald.  Maybe the mintette really was going to help.  “Yeah, I mean, religion, you know.”  The young girl tried to state evenly, though it was more stammered than anything.  She wasn’t sure if she should let the older woman know that Qrow told her the story and how they connected to Salem’s ambitions for power.  She wasn’t sure if she should fully trust Emerald again.

Emerald couldn’t suppress a laugh at this response and Ruby tilted her head towards the woman in question, half wondering what was so funny and half worried that her terrible lying skills had shown through.  Of course, a cheeky smile lit crimson eyes as the green gemstone responded to Ruby’s unvoiced question.  “Gee Ruby, I didn’t think you were raised in the church of the two brother’s based on all the crosses you used to wear.”

Ruby’s mouth continued to open and close while her voice simply made sounds in time to the movements which resulted in nothing but incoherent blabbering.  Emerald simply laughed at Ruby’s comic reaction before reassuring her.  “I’m just teasing Ruby.  With as far as science and technology have come these days, I know most theologies are simply passed as more fairy tales and folklores that people tell their children but expect them to grow out of once another explanation comes about.”

Ruby suppressed the sigh of relief that came with the feeling washing over her body when Emerald hadn’t pressed how she really knew the story.  But, if she were the enemy then why wouldn’t she?  Sure, Ruby still had her grip on Crescent Rose, but Emerald was well inside the scythe wielder’s guard, so Ruby wouldn’t be able to defend herself easily should the mintette choose to attack.  Also, Ruby had always been a terrible liar, if Emerald had pressed even just slightly more, Ruby probably would’ve spilled every bean in her being.  Maybe even inform the woman that she took her coffee with a cream and five sugars in case such spilt beans could somehow be crafted into that caffeinated beverage.  It was really late and Ruby could feel her fatigue dragging every ounce of her will into a fantasy of a dreamless slumber.  Yeah, the less dreams the better.

The young warrior shook her head violently, partly to bring herself out of those thoughts and back to reality, but mostly to try to shake the fatigue out.  The day was already proving to be long and here she was practically falling asleep next to a potential threat.  She needed to get it together and see if she could really figure out why Emerald was here.  “If it’s nothing more than a fairy tale then why bring it up?”

Crimson eyes broke away from silver again, although instead of shifting downward they looked straight ahead, as if that particular wall in the alley was inscribed with the words that were evenly spoken.  “Well, you know how the story goes that the two brothers created mankind with the power to create, the power to destroy, the ability to learn and the power to choose based on what they learn?”

Crimson eyes sought silver again to watch them bob slightly at the curt nod the younger girl gave, then they quickly retreated back to the wall that apparently had the words she needed to continue.  “Well, what happens when a certain group decides who gets to actually have the gift of choice?”

Ruby’s face scrunched up in thought as she tried to formulate an answer to the question.  The older woman, however, wasn’t patient enough to give the younger girl the time she needed to find the answer as a low voice cut through unfinished thoughts.  “My parents died when I was young.  They were promised their own farm hold outside of Mistral after working as sharecroppers their whole lives to scrape up the lien for it.  Of course, once we were inside the building where my parents would buy our freedom, the whole building collapsed.”  Emerald clenched her eyes shut and shook her head.  “Someone destroyed the building’s supports and caused it to collapse.  My parent’s died.  I don’t know how I didn’t…”

Ruby’s eyes widened as she listened to the story, disbelief washing over her at the thought that someone would recklessly destroy everything to purposefully hurt somebody.  Sure there was Torchwick, Cinder, the White Fang, but Ruby always saw them more as anomalies, continuing to believe that, for the most part, people were good.  And yet…

“Why would anyone do that?”

Emerald couldn’t help but look back at the younger girl who asked such a question.  Was she really that _naïve_?  Of course, Ruby’s questioning expression seemed to solidify the belief that the innocent question was valid.  Emerald’s eyes narrowed suspiciously before she finally found her voice again.  “Ruby, what can you tell me about the black people you know?”

“Eh, ah, what?”  Ruby stuttered, taken aback by the question she saw as being very sudden.

Emerald continued to hold Ruby’s gaze with crimson eyes still narrowed.  “Or am _I_ the only black person you know?”

“Well, I mean…”  Ruby searched through her memory for every person she knew that would identify as black.  Of course there was Emerald, but there had to be more people she knew.  There was Flynt.  Of course, Ruby never actually met him, more her sister and Weiss fought against him in the tournament.  And the only thing that she knew about him was that his father ran a dust shop in Atlas that got run out of business by the illustrious Schnee Company.  And what about Sage from Sun’s team, or Fox from CFVY?  Well, the teams they belonged to was the most Ruby knew about either of them.  Still, she had always been taught that the color-blind approach was best, so she decided to finish her sentence by asking, “… does it really matter?”

Emerald practically leapt to her feet to scream at the younger girl.  “OF COURSE IT MATTERS RUBY!!!  It matters that the majority of the huntsmen and huntresses that protect our world, that the _heroes_ we’re supposed to look up to, are all white!  It matters that most black people are so poor that they have to live on farm holds where they are forced to sleep in sheds that are such easy targets for the Grimm!  It matters, because _someone_ decided it should matter, and that fact has determined my entire life for me!”

Ruby winced at the volume as she whimpered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know!” while Emerald could only groan in response as she leaned back against the wall to slump back into herself.  Ruby watched, tentatively as she was afraid that making a wrong move would cause Emerald to lash out again.  Sure, that may have been unpleasant, but Ruby wasn’t blind to the shimmer of unshed tears that were blurring crimson eyes.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t know Emerald.”

The older woman gave a short huff at the statement.  “That’s the problem with you huntsmen and huntresses.  You only care protecting the people from the Grimm while ignoring how people create monsters out of each other.  No, you simply get everything handed to you on a platter as silver as your eyes while everyone else gets slaughtered for not being sufficiently a person.”  Emerald shook her head to get wicked thoughts out as she hid it between her knees while her hands clutched at her scalp.

Ruby wanted to cry seeing her old friend so distressed.  “But, you _are_ a person Emerald!”

A humorless laugh escaped thin lips before crimson eyes turned towards those over-privileged silvers.  “If I were to tell you I saw something dark with red eyes two blocks over what would you think?”

Ruby’s mind immediately produced the image of a Boarbatusk, a Beowolf, an Ursa, and the young girl shook her head vigorously trying to get those images out, wanting to believe that they were simply the byproducts of her training as opposed to a bias she held, and yet…

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”  A bitter voice resounded next to the pale girl.  “That’s all anyone thought whenever they saw me.  I was just a monster pretending to be a person.  So I became a thief, because that was the only option that’s given to a human shaped monster, unless they want to be a killer.  I honestly didn’t want to be either, but this world was cruel, and the gods mocking.”  A deep sigh followed as Emerald buried her face back between her knees.  “And I just wanted to live with some amount of dignity.”

Ruby couldn’t help but remember the last thing Torchwick would ever say to anyone.

_The real world is cold!  The real world doesn’t care about spirit!_

“Why help Cinder then?”  The younger girl said, low and threatening.  Emerald wasn’t too bothered by the tone, however as she simply turned her gaze to the younger girl with a look that basically screamed that the answer should be obvious, before Emerald retreated the gaze.  Cinder seemed to be a pretty touchy subject with the cloaked warrior.

With a sigh, Emerald gave voice to the unspoken answer.  “I thought Cinder was giving me a better option than the only other two choices I had throughout my life.”  Emerald paused, needing to gather more air before she ran through her marathon of thoughts.  “I knew that Cinder would require me to hurt others, to kill them, to do whatever it takes, but she promised that a better world would come out of it.  That with the destruction of the kingdoms we could recreate the world where it really didn’t matter your skin color, eye color, gender or race because we would be there to rebuild the world better than it ever was.”  Green hair swayed back and forth as Emerald shook her head.  “I should have known better, because it became abundantly clear that I would never be considered a person.  Sure, the people were different, but the rules were the same.  To Cinder I was nothing more than another one of her Grimm pets to be released upon some unsuspecting person to bring about a gruesome death.”

A silence hung between the two before Emerald found the conclusion she wanted to come to for her thoughts.  “I should have died with my parents when that building collapsed.  They would be ashamed to see that not only have I turned into a monster, but I basically sold myself to some white bitch after they gave every breath of their life to buy my freedom.”

The silence returned, with neither woman knowing what to say to break the silence.  How did one respond to all of that?  Of course, Ruby figured that at this point it was her turn to say something, but what?  All that could come to the red-themed girl’s mind was a question she wanted to ask, yet wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate.  Still, it’s not like she had any better ideas…

“Emerald…” the voice spoke, soft and tentative, testing the waters of the older woman’s state of being.  The woman in question simply nodded her head a little to show that she was listening, but other than that had no reaction.  Continuing its cautious procedure to procure an answer from the woman next to her the quaking voice asked “… what do you want?”

Crimson eyes turned towards silver, questioning everything about the cloaked warrior that filled their vision.  Sensing that maybe she had said something wrong the silver-eyed girl backtracked.  “I mean, what would you want to do?  If you could have anything what would it be…”  Ruby’s gaze turned to meet the floor, unblinking as she thought through how her last question related to herself.  “If all options were open to you, what would you do?”

Crimson eyes turned away as a deep sigh was released.  “I don’t know…”  Silence returned, but only for a brief second before Emerald finished her thought.  “I just… I already said I wanted to live with some form of dignity but…”  She sighed again.  She didn’t want to admit this but, “I don’t know how I’d want to do that exactly…”

Neither one of them bothered to seek the other’s gaze as the undesirable admission sank in for them both.  Eventually Ruby had an idea and found the courage to voice what was on her mind.

“What if you came with us?”

Emerald couldn’t help the mocking laugh that came with the suggestion.  “Right, because your friends, your uncle and your sister are going to be absolutely _thrilled_ to see you decided to bring a dangerous criminal home.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed, slightly offended by the flippant response.  “Yeah, you’re right.  You’re better off just running around as some thug killing and stealing because you have nothing better to do!”

Emerald jumped to her feet and towered over Ruby.  “I _never_ wanted that!”

Ruby followed to her feet and shouted louder, “WHICH IS WHY I’M GIVING YOU THIS OPTION!!!”

The taller woman stumbled back a bit, not so much at the volume of the younger girl, but at the actual statement.  “What?”

Ruby sighed, dropping her head and closing her eyes before silver returned to bewildered crimson.  “You can join us if you want, help us defeat Salem or just be with us until you decide what it is that you would rather do with your life or…”  Ruby let loose a defeated sigh before she dared to speak the last of her statement.  “Or you could decide not to join me.  I won’t stop you.”

Emerald looked at the younger girl blankly.  She couldn’t really believe what she was hearing.  “You would let me go?  Like, I could leave and you won’t hunt me down, or tell Qrow or coerce me to join you?  I could simply… leave?”

Silver eyes looked up to crimson before giving a curt nod.  Emerald wasn’t too convinced with this display however.  She had been fed enough false promises to never hunger for food again.

“Why should I believe you?”

Ruby looked away, not wanting Emerald to catch onto what emotion would be clouding them as she spoke her next statement.  Still the voice came through without a shake or stutter.  “It’s because you’re right.”

There was a pause after that statement before Emerald decided she needed to say something to coax more information out of the girl.  “Pardon?”

“You were right, okay?!”  The response came a bit louder than Ruby had intended.  The young girl sighed as she looked back to a waiting Emerald.  “You were right about everything being handed to me.  I mean, I did work hard to become a huntress, but that hard work was only fruitful because I had Yang who would fuel my passion for hunting and spar with me.  That I had Dad who allowed me to go to Signal and Uncle Qrow who trained me so that I could become a huntress.  Even Professor Ozpin decided to let me into Beacon two years early…”

The small voice trailed off at the listing of all the people Ruby could be thankful to for granting her access to the life of her dreams.  Emerald remained still, waiting for the younger girl to finish her explanation.  The crimsonette sighed, seeing that the taller woman would require her to voice the rest of her thoughts, Ruby finished her admission.  “The point is that despite my hard work, that wasn’t actually what got me as far as I did…”  The younger girl had to wince at her own admission.  She wanted to believe that being a leader or a huntress meant that she could be completely independent.  And yet…  “Yang could have chosen to go to bed early instead of read me the stories that inspired me, or played with her friends instead of sparred with me during her free time.  Dad could have chosen for me to attend a non-combat school claiming that being a huntress was too dangerous a profession, or Uncle Qrow could have chosen to continue taking missions around the kingdom instead of taking time off to teach at Signal and ensure I was getting the hang of fighting.  Even Professor Ozpin could have chosen to simply send me back home after my incident with Torchwick instead of inviting me to his school…”

Another pause settled between the two women and Emerald began to notice how the sky was beginning to grow lighter.  How long had they been out there?  Deciding on needing to speed things up the taller woman decided to speak.  “Ruby, that’s a nice sentiment and all but… I still don’t fully understand what that has to do with me.”

Ruby turned her full gaze to Emerald to garner all of the older woman’s attention before she spoke.  “Dad, Qrow, Yang, Ozpin.  They all chose to help me, they chose to support me and sacrificed their own choices to make my choice career as a huntress possible, and I know that this won’t make up for everything that’s happened to you in your life, but…”  Ruby paused, trying to gauge Emerald’s reaction before finishing.  “I will choose to help you find whatever path that you wish to take.  I want to support you in finding the kind of life that you want to lead.”

A dark hand was clenched just above the elbow of the woman with crimson eyes that gazed upon the smaller girl before clenching shut and turning away.  She didn’t dare hope, but she couldn’t help it as she voiced a question that broke at her internal conflict.  “Why?”

“Because…”  Ruby began as she strode towards the mintette, placing her hand atop the one that Emerald was using to cling to her other arm.  Small pale fingers curled around the hand beneath it to coax the appendage out of its death grip on the arm it clung to.  “As a huntress, I want to give everyone a chance at their happily ever after… and because…”  She gave Emerald’s hand a small squeeze and smiled softly at Emerald before finishing, “I always did consider you a friend.”

Emerald gazed down at the joined hands as a wistful smile spread across her face.  “Friend, huh?”  She didn’t really have any of those growing up.  Cinder was more like a slave-driver and Mercury was… Well he was like that annoying co-worker that you just always had to put up with despite the constant headache they presented and made you believe that ibuprofen may as well have been one of the gifts of the gods.  Friends were simply something that only existed in fairy tales.

Of course, Ruby’s entire dream was to basically be a character out of a fairy tale.

Said fairy tale character decided to follow the crimson gaze to the treasure they were taking in, only to find their joined hands.  Ruby’s cheeks began to redden as she let go and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly while she tried to think of something to say.  “So.. ah, um…”

Ruby stumbled over her words as she looked up to Emerald who now sported one of those smirks that everyone seemed to send Ruby’s way, but something was different about this particular expression.  Sure that teasing, playful element was found in the smirk, but it also seemed like that wistfulness that Ruby noted earlier was still present in Emerald’s face.  Seeing this helped the younger girl find the words that she needed to say.  “So… what will you choose to do.”

That one word.  _Choose_.  Emerald let it echo in her mind for a moment to take in the gravity of the statement.  With choice came freedom, autonomy.  The things that Emerald had always longed for.  The things that always came at a cost to a person who wasn’t making the choices.  And Ruby would pay that cost for Emerald.

“Isn’t it obvious?”  Crimson eyes rolled as that smirk became purely playful.  “I want to be a singer and actress.  Oh!  And I want to co-star in the next Spruce Willis movie that’s due to come out in the winter of next year!”

 “YEA- ah, wait, what?”  Ruby was definitely not expecting _that_ as her quizzical look would attest.

“Come on Ruby!  You said you would help me in whatever path I chose and this is what I want!”  Emerald cried, feigning hurt before she responded with a pout.  “You weren’t just lying to me were you?”

“Gyah!  Wait!  No, hold on!”  Ruby jumped back at the sudden accusation, before pressing her index fingers together as if they were pieces to a puzzle that would grant her a solution to helping Emerald fulfill her desires.  “Uh-um, well, uh, maybe Uncle Qrow knows somebody who-”

The statement was never finished as Emerald’s laughter cut through the half-baked thought.  “I’m kidding Ruby.  I can’t sing, and I doubt that even Weiss could teach me how to be pretentious enough to be a proper celebrity.”

The younger girl gasped at the sudden realization.  “Oh my gosh, WEISS!  Of course!  How could I have forgotten!?  Don’t worry Emerald, I promise that we’ll talk to Weiss about your future career as soon as-”

The younger girl was cut off as dark fingers pressed gently against her lips.  “Ruby.”  The name was stated a bit forcefully, but Emerald succeeded in getting the hyper-active child’s attention based on how those silver eyes gazed into crimson.  The hand fell away as the mintette finished her statement, “I was kidding.”

“Oh!  Ah, right… sorry…” the red-themed girl mumbled while her cheeks momentarily decided to take on Ruby’s favorite color.  Of course, that still left the question unanswered.  “So, what did you decide?”

“Weeelll.”  Emerald turned to smile fully at the younger girl.  “I might as well tag along with you.  I mean, you’re so willing to jumpstart my future singing and acting career that I ought to see what other life options being with you will present me.”

Ruby seemed to be completely oblivious to the jab as she simply beamed up at the taller woman before grabbing her hand and charging forward.  “ALRIGHT!!!  Let’s go get you introduced to the rest of our team!  Uncle Qrow got some intel on different places we could investigate for White Fang activity and you could totally join us!!!  I mean, if you want to.  I mean, you don’t have to do anything if-”

Emerald simply chuckled at the younger girl’s antics as she was led towards the hotel that must have been acting as the Team RWBY base of operations.  Of course the mintette had to suppress a shudder at the mention of Qrow.  That was most likely to be a less-than-pleasant encounter.  But, she had Ruby’s support, and maybe the rest of Team RWBY would be equally willing to vouch for her and let her stay.

Staying… with Ruby and her team…  Emerald couldn’t suppress the hope that welled within her chest.  Sure, options are nice, but Emerald wasn’t sure if she would have chosen differently even _if_ more options were presented to her than to either join Ruby or figure something else out.  It didn’t matter anymore as Emerald began to believe that this may be the first decision since her parents’ death that she wouldn’t spend her lifetime regretting.


	2. The Price of the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I totally planned on updating this sooner, but life kinda got in the way (I thought I told life not to do that to me [*SIGH*]). Anyways, I'm sorry for making you wait and I'm glad to see some Gemstones fans in the comments and I hope that this chapter satisfies. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Of course Emerald was going to regret her decision almost immediately.  She couldn’t help but wonder what had possibly possessed her into thinking that joining Team RWBY would be a good idea.

Of course, in her defense, she didn’t realize how badly the fall of Beacon had affected Ruby and her friends specifically.  Sure, Emerald realized that what happened caused a widespread panic that attracted the Grimm to essentially destroy the entire kingdom and slaughter everyone in sight, but she had heard that most of the students from the Vytal Festival had stayed to defend the school and managed to get out mostly unscathed.  Actually, the only casualty she knew of was Pyrrha since Cinder killed her first-hand, but other than that she didn’t think that anyone else sustained any kind of injury.

So, of course Emerald was surprised when she saw the remaining members of Team JNPR, who immediately shouted a call to arms against her as Ruby frantically tried to quiet them down.  Of course, the ruckus would awaken Yang in her nearby room who busted forth and tried to attack Emerald immediately upon the sight of her.  Of course Emerald wasn’t expecting to be dodging a metallic fist that blew a bullet into the wall next to her without the use of Ember Celica.  And of course, as Ruby was trying to pull Yang back and away from the new arrival, Qrow had to come out in his belligerent shouts of “What the fuck is going on!” until the sight of Emerald caused him to go on the defensive almost immediately as he began to beckon the crimsonette away from their enemy.

Of course, that was probably the most surprising moment of all.  Tyrian had said he was dead!  So how in the hell was Qrow standing before her ready to give her the fight of her life?!

Ruby had managed to get back between Yang and Emerald with Qrow’s distraction and remained poised to defend the mintette with her life.  The hooded warrior pleaded with her companions, begging them to drop their weapons and just listen to what she had to say.  And looking around Emerald could not suppress the curiosity as to how far the consequences of her latest actions may have affected the person who would grant her a chance at a better life.

“Ruby…” The hesitant voice came, “What happened to Weiss and Bla-.”

“WHAT DO YOU CARE!!!” Yang shouted, flaming hair licking the air around her promising a swift destruction.  “ITS YOUR FAULT SHE’S GONE!!!”

Emerald shut her mouth and readied a defense.  That had certainly struck a nerve with Yang and, given her present state, the brawler wasn’t going to let this go without a fight.

“Yang!  It isn’t like that!” Ruby interjected, “Please just let me explain!”

“Ruby, forget it.”

Silver eyes widened as the crimsonette turned to face the direction the voice came from. “But Emerald!”

“I said forget it Ruby!”  Emerald spoke more forcefully.  “I get it! I’m not wanted here either, so stop wasting your time!”  And turning to leave the mintette finished with, “I’ll stop bothering you and figure something else out!”

“Emer-” the reaper’s soft voice was quickly overpowered by an overheated brawler.

“What?!  Like report back to Cinder, Salem or whoever-the-fuck about where we are?!”

“Actually…” Emerald drawled, pausing just to ensure she had the blonde’s attention.  “I was thinking maybe I’d sign up with the fire department to see if we can find your little lost kitty in a tree somewhere.”

“YOU FUCKING BIT-”

“EOUGH!!!!”

The authoritative voice of Qrow reverberated against the walls of the hallway and silenced the ensuing verbal battle that threatened to explode within the confines of the building.  “Ruby, you are to join me and Yang to discuss this situation while Emerald is to remain with Jaune’s team until we figure out what best to do with your new friend here.”

“BUT-”

“And no ‘buts’ from you about this Yang!”  Qrow turned to pan his vision across everyone who had joined them in the hallway.  “And that goes for all of you to!”

“And what about me.”  Emerald stated sternly while challenging Qrow’s authority with her gaze.  “What if I decide I don’t want to wait around while your little family circle has your little reunion?”

“Well Yang was right about one thing,” Qrow began while taking a step towards the mintette.  “We aren’t going to just let you walk out after what’s happened, so you can either come quietly, or…”  Qrow placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, “We can take you forcefully.”

Emerald scanned the hallway at the opposition that would stand in her way if she chose to escape.  It was five to one if Ruby had decided to remain out of the fray, and Emerald really couldn’t count on the reaper simply standing by until the battle was over, regardless of what she might have said earlier that morning.  That and Emerald wasn’t sure if she could outrun both Ruby and Nora given the crimsonette’s semblance as well as the viking’s unpredictable behavior.  Also, knowing Qrow, luck wouldn’t be on her side which would either slow her down or make her easy to track.  Her best bet would be to wait until they were separated and use that opportunity to escape.

“Fine.”  The voice came stern and threatening.

“Ruby, her weapons.”

At her uncle’s command the reaper turned towards Emerald again to retrieve the mintette’s pistols.

Emerald’s hands grabbed the hilts of her weapons, tempted to simply pull them out and open-fire on Qrow and his little minions, but a soft voice that seemed to understand her hesitance pleaded with her.  “Please Emerald, I promise things will work out and I’ll take good care of your weapons.  I promise.”

Emerald wanted to hate the little red-head, wanted to hate herself.  This was so obviously a trap and Emerald was stupid enough to believe that this little girl would actually be sincere in her desire to help her like she claimed she would anyone else.  Ruby didn’t understand.  She couldn’t.  Her parents worked the fields taking care of the plantation owner’s livestock using these sickles that Emerald kept so close.  It was with these sickles that her parents had hoped to buy their freedom as well as her own.

Emerald looked into the pleading silver orbs, hoping that they may hold some prophecy of Emerald’s future and what she should actually do in this situation, but all they revealed was Ruby’s pleading hope that the mintette would comply.  It was enviable that just Ruby’s eye color practically guaranteed her a decent future as a huntress should she survive.  If Emerald had those eyes, or that skin color, how different would her life have been?

Emerald sighed as her shoulders drooped.  She wanted to believe that Ruby was sincere.  Actually, she was counting on the knowledge that Ruby couldn’t tell a lie to save her life would be what would give Emerald a decent chance at getting out of this.  If needing to run again is what it comes down to.  Of course it was hard to imagine that, if Qrow and Yang did decide to let her stick around, it would be any position better than a hostage, but Emerald could figure something out later.  She had been in worst situations before.

Slowly Emerald’s hands slid down to the holsters for her pistols as she reluctantly handed over the weapons to Ruby.  The weapons that were the tools her parents used to try to gain their freedom.  The tools that, by extension, Emerald used to continue to fight for her own freedom.  Ruby tenderly took the leather-bound relics from Emerald’s hands as the dark-skinned woman felt a phantom of her parent’s memories slip through her fingers.  Goodbye freedom.

Ruby moved away as the members of Team JNPR moved in to surround her on either side when Jaune was stopped by Qrow.  The older man whispered in the blond’s ear and the young leader nodded in response before moving towards his entourage.

“Let’s go,” his voice came, firm yet quiet.  In response, his two followers moved forward leading Emerald to their team’s room as Emerald focused her attention on the sounds around her.  None of the three others had moved from their position, which Emerald figured they would wait until she was safely held within JNPR’s room before moving to wherever they would hold their meeting.  Jaune opened the door as the two members and their captive filed in and closed it after them before Nora obliterated the well-constructed silence that Qrow had built in the hallway.

“Oh my gosh!!! I can’t believe we’re holding a hostage here!   It’s almost like we’re crime specialists who have found our first suspect who we will begin interrogating thoroughly!”

“Nora!  This is serious!!!”  Jaune cried at the sudden loss of composure by his teammate.

“Well, yeah Jaune!  I know that.”  Nora responded waving her hand dismissively.  “But what are we supposed to do with a hostage with no table or bright interrogation spotlight or anything!”

“Nora’s right… sort of.”  Ren’s soothing voice rose above the rest of them.  “We are ill equipped for actual hostage taking so we may as well be civil.”  The young martial artist then turned towards the desk as he pulled a chair out.  “Would you care for a seat Emerald?”

“Uh… sure…”  Emerald spoke, half surprised at the offer and half unsure as to its sincerity.  “Thanks.”

“You are most welcome.”  The soft-spoken young man stated.  Of course, as Emerald took the chair she noticed how Ren positioned himself next to the window as he leaned against the wall, effectively blocking that means of escape.  Jaune hadn’t moved an inch away from the door since he shut it and Nora simply sat on the bed across from Emerald’s seat, bouncing a bit due to her chronic excess of energy.

“Don’t bother her with pleasantries Ren,” Jaune said bitterly.  “We’re getting rid of her as soon as Qrow talks some sense into Ruby.  There’s no way we’re going to trust her.”

“Ruby seems convinced otherwise.”  The dark-haired boy stated.  “Besides, we left the decision in her and Qrow’s hands.  Whatever our issues are should be left aside until an actual consensus is made.”

“Well, yeah, but Jaune is still our leader.”  The orange-haired hammer-wielder interjected.  “So as Team JNRR shouldn’t we be following Jaune’s orders regardless of whatever decision Ruby comes to about all this?”

“Perhaps,” Ren admitted.  “However, Ruby ultimately made the decision to come to Mistral, and when we were informed of her choice we chose to follow her, which deferred our leadership to Ruby.  Hence I would argue that as Team RNJR, Ruby holds primar-”

“Will you both just shut up about that!”  The blond leader’s voice rose more in pitch than in volume.  “It doesn’t matter what our team is called, or who gets to make the decisions or anything else anymore…”  His voice dropped as he inspected the metalwork of Crocea Mors.  “It doesn’t matter… anymore…”

Silence fell over the three captors allowing Emerald to think through escape possibilities.  There’s no way they would stay in that room forever, and they would probably drop the amount of people watching her.  Even if they just dropped it to two people guarding her she could use her semblance just long enough to manipulate them and make her escape.  Of course, she wasn’t sure where her weapons were, but odds were they would be stored in one of the rooms in the hotel which limited it to one of the rooms on the floor she was on.  If she had to hazard a guess though, she would bet they would keep them in Qrow’s room since he is an official huntsman.  That may make things tricky.

“Are you from around here?”

Emerald was broken out of her thoughts as she looked towards the sound of the voice and, sure enough, Ren’s gaze was fixed on her.

“Is this where you start interrogating me?”  The mintette deadpanned.

Unfazed Ren simply shrugged his shoulders as he remained in place.  “I was only curious.”

“Riiight,” Emerald drawled as she rolled her eyes.  “Let me ask you something.  Is there a connection between your pink eyes and hair streak and your girlfriend’s choice in color-scheme when she dresses?”

“Actually, we’re not together-toge-”

“Why would you ask that?” The martial artist asked cutting off Nora’s explanation of their relationship status.

“I was only curious.” The mintette responded playfully as a sly smirk crossed her face.

Letting out a sigh Ren turned his gaze back to their hostage.  “I was wondering if maybe you had heard of Oniyuri.”

Emerald’s expression dropped as she turned her head away.  “Of course I heard of it…”  she spoke in a small nearly inaudible voice.  Being a petty thief in the streets of Mistral, it was hard to not hear about a bunch of uppity noble people believing they were too good for the kingdom.  Mistral was the kingdom with the largest trade, but that was mainly because Anima was a continent that had such varying climates that one could grow just about anything so long as they picked the right spot on the continent.  However, the vastness of the fertile land surrounding Mistral was what inspired the slave trade to take place.  Too much land to be cultivated and too few people.  Emerald had only heard rumors of Oniyuri, mostly saying that the wealthy elite wanted to build a new city, a _better_ city, than what Mistral provided.  She ignored most of the rumors, but some were saying that the new city was being built to create a place where all could be equal and no forms of discrimination or oppression existed.

Emerald had her doubts on that one however.  Most of the wealthy within Mistral got their money through plantation shares or deals within the black market, and she couldn’t imagine anyone using their privilege to build a city where such an advantage in life was lost.

“What’s that got to do with anything Ren?”  The blond leader asked, slightly annoyed.

“Nothing…”  Emerald spoke monotonously.  “At least not anymore.  It’s simply history now.”

In the end, it didn’t matter.  And whether Oniyuri would have been a haven to all its citizens, or simply the wealthy rulers, would never be known.

Silence blanketed the room again, but Emerald knew that it wouldn’t last long.  Nora’s little bounces on the bed had become more frequent.

“Ok!  My turn to ask a question now!”  Nora exclaimed as she jumped up from her spot on the bed.

“Is this the part where you interrogate me?”  The mintette spoke with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

“Hey!  I’m the one asking the questions here!  Now… let’s see…”  The hammer-wielder pointed her index finger at Emerald before using it to tap against her chin which led to it being raised in the air to gesture a sudden thought.  “Oooh!  Ok!  What’s your favorite color?!”

“Uh…” Emerald stuttered, unsure as to how to respond in the given situation.  “Is that a serious question?”

“Hey!  I said I’m asking the questions here!”  The eccentric girl exclaimed.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?”  The dark-skinned woman responded with an eyebrow quirking at the goal of Nora’s antics in this event.

“You’re not planning on answering all my questions with another question, are you?”  the hammer-wielder spoke with a threateningly low-voice and a mischievous grin taking over her face.

“Was I supposed to be prepared for this ridiculous a set-up?”  The mintette responded, trying, but failing to hide the irritation in her voice.

“Oohoohooo” Nora cooed as a devious sparkle twinkled in her eyes.  “This could be fun.”

Emerald berated herself for not seeing this coming.  She looked to Ren and Jaune, but Jaune seemed completely uninterested in intervening while Ren simply seemed amused by the scene.  As Nora took in a deep breath to start whatever tirade was about to follow Emerald couldn’t help but pray that Qrow and the others would finish their meeting soon.

* * *

 

“I’m telling you!  She’s not a bad person, we can trust her!”

“She helped Cinder lay siege to the entire Kingdom of Vale and destroy Beacon!  How can you just ignore all of that!”

“But it wasn’t her fault!  She didn’t have any choice!”

“Will the two of you just sit down and SHUT UP!!!”

Qrow, grabbing each of his nieces by the shoulder forced them both down to sit on the opposing beds before grabbing his flask and taking a long swig.  No matter how drunk he could get, there was no way he was going to be drunk enough for this.

“Alright, now are we going to discuss this like civilized huntsmen and huntresses or-”

“But Uncle Qrow!  It wasn’t her fault!”

“How can you say that after she-”

“QUIET!!!!!”

Both girls fell silent as Qrow sat in the chair he placed between them and began rubbing his head.

“Look, it doesn’t matter anymore what happened.  What matters is right now she is in our custody and we need to decide what to do with her.”

“Like I already said, let’s just hand her over to the authorities.”  Yang deadpanned while glaring at her little sister.  “Emerald can go be their problem.”

“But Emerald won’t pose any problems for us anymore!”  Ruby promised.  “She just wants a decent life off the streets!  Why can’t we help her with that?!”

“She’s just playing you again Ruby!”  Yang shouted, hoping the sheer volume of her argument would pound some sense into her little sister.  “You know, like she did all those months at Beacon!”

“You’re wrong!”  Ruby accused hoping her voice would contain some authority over her older sister.  “She wouldn’t do that to us, she’s our friend!  We should just give her a chance!”

“PFFT!  Some friend!”  Yang’s voice rose dripping in venom.  “She killed Penny and Pyrrha!”

“Cinder did that!”  Ruby defended, “And Emerald isn’t Cinder!”

“How do you know that?!  Emerald was working for her!  She could have very well been doing Cinder’s dirty work for her and killed them!”

“I saw Cinder kill Pyrrha!”

“Let’s face it!  The only reason your so adamant about Emerald staying with us is because you’ve been crushing on her since Beacon!”

Ruby jumped to her feet as she growled in response.  “Well, your mad that your crush from Beacon ran off on you after her old psycho-killer lieutenant sliced of your arm.”

Ruby’s hands flew over her mouth as Yang rose from her spot.  She didn’t mean for those words to come out, but she just got so mad.  Of course, there was no turning back now as Yang stepped forward threateningly towards the younger sister.

“You know Ruby, it’s a really bad idea for a flower to play with the flame.”

“Alright that’s it!”  The voice came from between the two of them.  “I did not come all the way to Mistral just to babysit two immature schoolgirls.”  Qrow turned his gaze towards Yang, “Go cool off!  Your sister and I can figure out what to do with Emerald.”

“But-”

“No.  We’ll figure it out without you.  Go calm down and we’ll discuss this incident later.”

The brawler’s jaw opened and closed to try to form an argument until she decided to resign without trying.  She pushed past Ruby and bolted out the room as the younger sibling tried to call out to her.

“Don’t worry Ruby, she’ll calm down.”  Qrow stated before taking another swig from his flask.  “A flame can’t survive if there’s nothing around to fuel it.  Just give her some time.”

Ruby couldn’t look at him, continuing to stare at the door that the big sister she had always looked up to had simply stormed out of.  What if she didn’t calm down?  What if she didn’t come back?  Of course, that begged the question of which Yang did she want to come back, the jovial, punny one or the short-tempered, despondent one?

“I can’t believe I said that…”  Ruby’s soft voice wafted in the air, unsure as whether she was speaking to her uncle or herself.

Qrow simply shook his head as he set his flask aside for the moment.  “Meh, everyone says stupid things when a situation gets heated.”  Ruby turned to meet her uncle’s gaze that hardened at the sight of hers, “but as a leader, you need to be in control of your emotions regardless of the situation’s climate.”

Ruby dropped her head at the admonishment as she spoke in a quiet voice.  “I understand sir.”

“Hey!  No need to be like that.”  Qrow spoke in as light-hearted a tone he could muster as he patted the bedside she was stationed at. “C’mon and sit down.  We still need to get a decision figured out here.” 

The cloaked reaper moved back to the bed she was sitting on previously as she watched her uncle take another swig from his flask.  “Look,” he began, pointing with the flask in his hand.  “Regardless of whatever feelings or whatever, Emerald’s dangerous, and I can’t promise that we won’t hand her over to the authorities.”

“I know- I just…”  Ruby began, fumbling over her words trying to think of what might convince her uncle the most.  Eventually she sighed.  “Uncle Qrow?  What’s it like to be a sharecropper?”

“Uh… what?”

“Well, I mean,” Ruby began, trying to formulate her thoughts and how to address the topic with her uncle.  “Emerald mentioned that her parents were something called ‘sharecroppers,’ but I’d never heard of that term before.  At school, we were simply told that Mistral had the largest amount of farmland so there was a lot of farming communities, but no one mentioned sharecroppers.”

“I…”  Qrow rubbed the back of his head.  This wasn’t a very widely discussed topic.  Actually, it was usually discouraged to discuss such things.  “I don’t know for sure… but it’s not a pretty life.”

“Why doesn’t anyone talk about it…”  Ruby wondered aloud as she stared ahead letting her mind wander aimlessly for the answer.

“Politics, Ruby.”  The crimsonette turned to face her uncle as her brow quirked, prompting Qrow to explain further.  He sighed and continued, “Look, Mistral provides more trade in raw materials and food product than all the other kingdoms in the world combined, but they can only do that through an… exploitable… labor source.”  Qrow paused as he shook his head.  “People don’t want it discussed.”

“Why not?”  Ruby asked, voice rising with disbelief that this was hidden from her throughout her life.  “Why doesn’t everyone know so that we can fix it?  So that those people can also have a decent life that the kingdoms’ walls are supposed to give?”

“Mostly because lots of the people in power don’t want this fixed, Ruby.”  Qrow stated evenly, which caused Ruby to be even more confused at the state of the kingdom.

“But why wouldn’t the kingdoms want to help these people?”

“Because…”  Qrow deadpanned, “it would cost Mistral more money than it would be willing to give to ensure these people had fair wages and decent working conditions, and the other kingdoms couldn’t produce enough food for their citizens on their own fields.  Of all the world, Mistral is the one kingdom that has fertile enough soil to provide necessary food crops to the other kingdoms.”  Qrow let out a sigh before grabbing Ruby’s gaze once more.  “The kingdoms see this as the needs of the many over-riding a few peoples’ right to liberty.”

“And how many sharecroppers are there?”  Ruby asked, scared to know the answer.

“Honestly…”  Qrow began looking up to the ceiling as if his next statement was to be found there.  “I’m not sure… From what I’ve heard a lot of them left for Atlas after slavery was disbanded with the growing dust economy up there since the faunus are used as cheap labor for the mines.  Of course, it's a risky move with the Grimm everywhere, and even if they survive the journey, there is said to be an economic disparity between the black and white populations of Atlas.”

“I can’t believe this…”  Ruby looked away shaking her head.  This couldn’t be the kind of world that they were living in.

“We hardly live in a perfect world kid.”

“Isn’t there something we can do about it!”  Ruby exclaimed.  This wasn’t right.  And it was a huntress’ job to make things right, right?

“Ruby… huntsmen and huntresses aren’t politicians…”  Qrow began, again reaching for his flask.  “It’s our job to fight the Grimm so that the kingdoms can expand, but how the kingdoms are run… well, that’s what the council decides.”

Ruby’s head dropped, suddenly feeling like all the work she’d be doing as a huntress would be completely insignificant.  Life seemed so much easier in the fairy tales where there was only good and evil and if the evil was vanquished, everyone was saved.  What kind of a hero didn’t save everyone?

“If we can’t help everyone…”  Ruby muttered, almost choking on her own words and her disbelief in saying them.  “Can we at least do something to help Emerald?”

Qrow looked down before getting out of his seat.  “I can’t promise that we can but… I’ll talk to her…”  He looked down at his youngest niece before ruffling her hair and letting a smile crack his face.  “You stay right here and I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Ruby giggled at the older man’s antics before looking up to him.  “Thanks Uncle Qrow.”

The older reaper didn’t do anything to acknowledge the crimsonette’s last comment as he exited the room and closed the door behind him.  He walked a short distance down the hall to the room that Team JNPR had resided in and he opened the door to see…

“-be a good name for a wood chuck?  Like how much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood could be how much wood would Woody the wood chuck chuck if Woody the wood chuck could chuck wood?  Or maybe the wood chuck’s name should be Chuck?  Oooh what about Woodstock!”

“Having fun kids?”  Qrow asked taking a step into the room.

Nora immediately ended her interrogation to look up at Qrow and saluted.  “Yes sir!  General Qrow sir!  As you can see we have our captive completely incapacitated and ready for questioning!”

“Well, glad to see that you were only getting her warmed up for interrogation.”  Qrow stated leaning against the doorframe.  “I was half worried you had decided to start the questioning without me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it sir!”  Nora responded while Ren lowered his head to hide the smile that crept upon his face and a slight groan could be heard from the balled up form of Emerald.

“Alright at ease everybody.  I gotta talk to our new friend here so go out and do whatever you kids do when I’m not around.”

Jaune was the first to leave being the one who was guarding the door, followed by Nora who hummed and skipped on her way out, as her partner followed in a quieter manner.  “‘Go do whatever you kids do when I’m not around?’  Wow talk about the responsible parent taking over around here.”  Emerald mused as Qrow shut the door behind Ren.

“Ooooo, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you by sending your little friends home.”  Qrow began to tease as he stepped further into the room.  “I was just worried it was getting a little late for them to be out at night.”

“Does that mean it’s bedtime?”  Emerald asked stretching out from her seat and giving a huge yawn.  “Because I could really go for some shut-eye right about now.”

“Not quite yet.  You see…” Qrow pulled out a chair in front of Emerald and proceeded to sit down.  “I still need to decide what we’re going to do with you.”

Emerald straightened in her seat as she met his gaze.  “I didn’t think you’d want my opinion before you decided to kick me out.  Should I be flattered?”

“What you _should_ be is grateful.”  Qrow said leaning forward and hardening his expression.  “One of my nieces is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt despite all your crimes.”

“Gee I wonder which niece that could’ve been.”  Emerald stated, words dripping with enough sarcasm to melt through the floor.

“You know,” Qrow began, voice threatening.  “You’re not doing yourself any favors with this attitude.”

“What?  You think I don't know what’s going on?”  Emerald challenged, restraining herself from getting up and provoking any kind of forceful action.  “You’re just interrogating me to get information that will incriminate me because you’ve already decided to get rid of me.  Or simply use me to help in your journey and then chuck me in the slammer because ‘justice is justice’ or something like that.”

“We’d be within our rights, you did break the law.”

“It’s easy to follow the law when your born on the right side of it.”

Emerald crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair as Qrow continued to study her for any sign of thought or escape.  Silence enveloped them for a few moments as Qrow began to wonder if this was just a waste of his time, until Emerald spoke once more.

“You have red eyes.”

Qrow paused for a moment, unsure if the conversation would lead where he thought it might.  “Yeah… so?”

Emerald rolled her own crimson orbs at the response.  “Does this mean I should assume Ruby doesn’t know?”

“With all due respect to my niece, I can assure you she’s aware I have red eyes.”  Qrow stated flatly, leaning back in a taunting fashion.

Emerald sighed, “I meant, she doesn’t know about the stories about people with red eyes...”  Emerald paused to hold Qrow’s gaze.  “Does she?”

Qrow sighed and shook his head.  “It’s a ridiculous story.”

“Even so…”  Emerald began, tone becoming serious, “And regardless of whether it’s true or made up, many still believe those stories about red eyes.”  She paused to consider her next words.  “You’ve experienced this, haven’t you?”

Qrow loosed a humorless chuckle.  “You think anyone with red eyes hasn’t?”

“Does that include Raven?”

Qrow paused for a moment before leaning forward.  He wasn’t expecting her to know anything about his sister.  “How do you know that name”

“What?  You won’t even barter for the information I have?”  Emerald began to smirk.  “I’m trying to ply an honest trade here.”

“The more you tell me the more likely I’ll be inclined to keep you.”  Qrow warned with his eyes narrowing.

Emerald rolled hers again as she directed her gaze back to Qrow.  “I doubt it.  I don’t exactly have the truths the people want to believe exist in their world.  I only have the real ones.”

“Yeah, I should’ve figured given my niece’s complaints about current history curriculum.”  Qrow rolled his eyes but kept a serious composure so as not to lose control of the conversation.  “Besides, I’m not interested in disillusionment.”

“Is that why you keep Ruby in the dark about so many things?”

Qrow quirked a brow and acted aloof to the accusation, but Emerald noticed his hands clenching tighter in his lap.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The mintette leaned back as she raised her arms to rest her head on her hands.  “Yeah, it may be better that way.”

The huntsman kept a steady gaze on Emerald waiting for what her next move might be.  Silence enveloped them once more before dark woman sighed and met Qrow’s gaze.  “How much would the truth get me with you?”

Qrow shrugged his shoulders and began to lean back.  “Depends on what you want.”

“What if I asked you for the trust it would take to allow me to stay or leave without trouble?”

Qrow gave a humorless chuckle in response.  “You can’t buy trust with truths sweetie.”

“Don’t call me that.”  Emerald threatened, eyes narrowing.  “And regardless I have more truths about you than you would trust anyone else with, so how about this…”  The thief paused garnering Qrow’s attention.  “I let you know the information I have on you as well as the truth about me.  In return, you let me stay and don’t tell anyone about what was said here.”

“And how does that benefit you?”  Qrow asked, leaning forward towards Emerald’s argument.

“It gives me what I want the most.”  Emerald stated while holding Qrow’s gaze.  “A fresh start.”

Qrow smirked before leaning back.  “And why should I give any of this to you?”

“Because…” Emerald began, hardening her gaze.  “I know more about you than you would want anyone else knowing about you.”

“So… what?  You’ll blackmail me?”  Qrow asked non-chalantly at the barter.  “If I take you in, you can’t tell anybody.”

“Perhaps… but you’ll never know what information I have on you.  Also, should I escape you’ll never be able to prevent me from spreading the truth.”  Emerald held Qrow’s gaze, not wanting to relent quite yet, but also being too tired for these ridiculous mind-games.  “Look, I don’t want to have to fight over this.  I’ll tell you all the information Salem gave me on Team STRQ, then I’ll let you know about me and neither of us tells anyone outside this room about information on either.  This way we both have information on each other.”

Qrow paused for a moment to ponder this new information.  It was definitely geared in his favor since he had no information on their newest companion, assuming she would be honest with what she divulged of herself.  “What about information on Salem or Cinder?”

Emerald shrugged, “Not sure what I could tell you about them other than Cinder’s a power-obsessed psycho who’s gotten exceptionally broody these days while Salem’s this creepy old witch that lives in a grimm breeding ground.”

“And where’s this breeding ground?”  Qrow asked, hoping Emerald would be compliant with at least _that_ much information.

“Well… er…”  Emerald had to pause.  How was she supposed to explain it?  “It’s not anyplace in particular.  You can only get to and from there using some form of magic portals that Salem has set up.  The portals have keys to them so that if someone leaves, but has a key they can come back, but if someone without a key leaves their stuck in this dimension.”

“Do you have any of these keys?”

Emerald looked at Qrow and shook her head.  “Only the generals were given these keys and since I was Cinder’s underling I was simply supposed to rely on her for transportation to and from.”

Qrow paused to take in this new information.  It didn’t help them much since he still had no idea where it was and only a general idea on how on how to get there, but not the means to.  And what did she mean by _dimension_?  Of course, it could be a trap.  Or it could be true, and if Qrow managed to take one of these keys from a general, he wasn’t sure how it would work if it really led to another dimension.  Which meant that they may need Emerald’s help if they wanted to have even the slightest chance of finding Salem.

“Alright, let’s hear what all you know about whatever.”  Qrow leaned back while waving his hand for Emerald to proceed.

The mintette rolled her eyes at the older man’s antics.  “First, let’s discuss the red eyes.”

“Why bother?”  The huntsman responded, hands behind his head.  “We both already know the legend.”

“Yeah, but I also know that Ruby doesn’t know.”  Emerald interjected before another thought came to mind.  “Does Yang know?”

“Never talked to her about it.”  Qrow shrugged at his own response.  “Why ask?”

“Because it comes along with her semblance.”  Emerald responded to Qrow’s disregard.

Qrow sighed as his stature drooped.  “What’s your point?”

Emerald’s looked off to the side before deciding to face Qrow again.  “I just want to know who all knows…”

Qrow examined her and realized the unspoken request that was made.  “Meh, that story doesn’t help anybody.  We can keep it between ourselves.”

Emerald nodded and gave a flat “thanks” in response.  Qrow rolled his eyes before leaning forward.  “So now that we have these ground rules established how about we get started?”

“Yeah sure,” Emerald began, finding the place she wanted to start at.  “Let’s see… Team STRQ… Well, last I was informed, Taiyang had been living in Patch raising Ruby and Yang while teaching at the local combat school there.  From the sounds of it, he was the primary caretaker for both of the kids throughout their lives.”

“Anything else on Tai?”  Qrow pressed.

Emerald shook her head in response.  “Salem didn’t bother keeping much tabs on him or your nieces much since they weren’t really active in fighting against her schemes.”

Qrow nodded, it made sense enough.  “What else do you know?”

“Well…”  Emerald drawled thinking back on what she had been told.  “I know that after you and Raven graduated Raven became an active huntress for a while until an incident happened where the bandit clan you both were raised in attacked a village and her mentor was killed by one of the huntsmen who was defending the village.  After that, Raven felt a deep sense of guilt at leaving the clan for the very order that had murdered her greatest support so she went back and quickly rose to being leader.”

“How did she know this?”  Qrow asked, concerned at the accuracy of the account.

Emerald shrugged in response.  “Honestly I don’t know.  My guess would be that she had generals or underlings that she sent to gain this knowledge and report back to her with their findings.  In general though, she tends to have some detailed reports on the people she believes to be the biggest thorns in her side.”

Qrow began to grow concerned.  He really didn’t like the direction this was going.  “What about me?”

Emerald looked towards her hands in her laps before turning away.  “I-I know about your semblance.”

“And?”

Emerald took a deep breath.  “Taiyang remained home to watch his two daughters and Summer had been requested to take a mission that would take her to Atlas.  Taiyang was worried that the mission would be too dangerous for her to go on alone…”  Emerald paused to look at Qrow’s reaction.  His face remained stoic, but she could sense the unease in his posture.  “Yo-you went with her…”

Qrow could only dropped his head as his hands clasped together even harder in his lap.  “I-” Emerald began again, speculating what may be the best course of action.  “I can sto-”

“No…”  the voice came uncharacteristically soft.  “You said all information…”

Emerald opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it.  Lowering her head she continued.  “You two were to investigate a Grimm nest had appeared on the cliffside overlooking Mantle’s trading docks.  People were concerned about how close it was to the harbor and how such a large concentration of Grimm had appeared so closely so suddenly”

Emerald paused again to see if Qrow would protest the retelling, but seeing no sign she pushed on.  “You trekked on to complete your mission and investigate what brought the Grimm so close to the kingdom’s walls.  Eventually, you were ambushed by a pack of Beowolves.  You managed to dispatch the first wave, and the second, and the third, until silence fell. Your auras were low, but you believed you had defeated all the Grimm”

Qrow remained quiet and unmoving.  Unflinching, as he refused to make any form of eye-contact with the story-teller.  “An Alpha blind-sided Summer though and hit through her aura.  You dispatched the Alpha…”  Emerald continued, trying to keep her voice steady and her gaze forward for any sign to stop.  “You saw Summer near the cliffside struggling to get up and ran to help her, but when you reached out…”

Qrow shuddered, as Emerald concluded the story.  “The cliff side crumbled… And Summer fell nearly 10,000 feet into the below freezing ocean…”

Silence reigned over them again as they both let the truth of the matter sink in.  The truth that, had Taiyang gone with Summer instead of Qrow, Summer probably would still be alive.  The truth that the enemy knew Qrow’s greatest regret.  The truth that Emerald knew his greatest secret that he had hoped to keep from Ruby, but tried to make up for in training her as a huntress and looking over her exploits.  In trying to protect her like he failed to do Summer.

“Why do you know?”

Qrow hadn’t moved from his position and Emerald could only look at him briefly before needing to turn away.

“Because…”  She began, trying to muster the courage to uphold her end of the bargain.  “Because of the truth you need to know about me…”

Qrow rubbed his eyes before lifting his gaze to meet Emerald’s.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Emerald gave a deep breath and lowered her head.  This was it.  “My semblance… what makes me special… or, I guess, so valuable to Salem and anyone else is… my semblance.”

“Yeah… and?”

Emerald closed her eyes, inhaled, exhaled.  “My semblance is that I can create illusions.”  Emerald opened her eyes to gauge Qrow’s expression.  “The more information I know about someone, the more I can use that information against them…”

“Is that why you were messing with Yang about Blake?”  Qrow asked, putting the pieces together that explained Emerald’s actions.  “Trying to find something that would get you an advantage with your semblance?”

“Yeah…”  Emerald deadpanned.  “It’s become a habit for me to pay attention to those cues.  My semblance has gotten me out of the worst of situations… Of course, it’s also attracted the worst kind of trouble.”

“Like Salem?”  Qrow wondered aloud, figuring out how she might have been useful to the enemy.

“Cinder’s the one who found me…”  Emerald admitted rather openly.  “Saw how easily I could manipulate someone and figured I’d be useful.”

“So… Yang and Mercury…”  Qrow let the words hang, waiting for Emerald to fill in the blanks.

Emerald sighed before responding.  “Yeah…  I manipulated Yang’s mind into attacking Mercury.”

“And what about Penny and Pyrr-”

“That was me too.”  Emerald said, slight panic rising at the direction of the conversation.  “Look, what made me useful was the psychological element to my semblance.  With my semblance I could manipulate people so that we could create the panic needed to lure the Grimm while the fingers get pointed at everyone else.”

Qrow’s gaze hardened on the illusionist as he thought through what would be the best course of action.  “Why tell me this?”

“Well… we made a dea-”

“No.  I mean why not say that you had some other semblance and Cinder or Mercury or some other companion working for you killed Penny and caused my niece’s depressive spiral?”  Qrow leaned closer to Emerald as if to better examine her.  “Why make yourself out as the bad guy?”

“Because I promised you the truth” Emerald deadpanned.  “Besides…”  Emerald began holding Qrow’s gaze, “I’m sick of the illusions and pretending to be someone else.  I just want to exist as me…”

Emerald’s voice began to trail off when a smirk crept on Qrow’s face.  “And you think that we, of all people, can provide that for you?”

Emerald shrugged as her gaze wandered away from the scythe-wielder.  “Maybe, maybe not, but…”  Emerald’s gaze found its way back to Qrow.  “But Ruby’s the closest I’ve been to getting to know someone with an honest self…”  Emerald paused to laugh at her own statement, “Sorry, that probably made no sense.”

“Meh, don’t worry about it.  Most everything in this world doesn’t make sense anymore.”  Qrow said getting up.  He went straight for his flask and chugged as much of it as he felt would make up for lost drunkenness during the entire conversation.

Emerald couldn’t suppress her chuckle at the statement.  Or at the thought of how Qrow’s flask seemed to never go empty somehow.  “So, what’s the verdict?”

Qrow had about three more chugs of his flask before he wiped his mouth and looked back at her.  “Oh, yeah.  That’s right, here follow me.”

The huntsman opened the door and Emerald followed him out.  She couldn’t help but notice that he was in front of her.  Escaping now would be so easy, but she didn’t feel so inclined to take advantage of the situation at the moment.  She liked being honest with someone and, honestly, she was sick of running.

Qrow opened the door two doors over and across the hall.  “Hey kiddo.”

Immediately a scruff of crimson hair perked from the bed nearest the door as Ruby turned to face the new-comers before bursting into rose petals and arriving at the door.

“Oh my gosh Uncle QROW!!!!”  The young girl gushed as she bounced in front of the two at the door frame.  “So can Emerald stay?!  Huh?! Huh?! Huh?!”

Qrow stopped Ruby’s bouncing by ruffling her head before giving his final decision.  “Yeah kid, she can stick around if she wants.”

“REEEEAAAALLLLYYYYYY?!?!?!?!?!”

“Really?”

The hyperactive child and recent hostage said at once only for Qrow to nod his head.

“Yep, have fun kiddo, and try not to scare her off in one night.”

“YAAAAAAaaaaa-----!!!!!”

Emerald let out a grunt as Ruby jumped up mid cheer to hug their newest companion only to knock the mintette off balance with the red blur of sugar-induced energy landing on top of her.  The illusionist looked up to see Qrow’s sly smirk and had to roll her eyes at the expression while trying to wiggle her way out of the young reaper’s koala bear hug.

“Uh… thanks… Ruby?”

“Yes?”  Ruby responded with a large grin before it popped out of existence to be replaced with realization.  “Oh wait!”  The crimsonette bounced up in a burst of rose petals and returned in the same manner to her fallen comrade.  “Here are your weapons.  I promise I let nothing happen to them!”

Emerald got up to brush herself off from the red-themed leader’s antics before retrieving the pistols and strapping the holsters back in place and flashing the young girl a smile.  “Thanks Ruby.”  Something seemed off though, but it was easy to figure out what upon scanning the room.  “Where is everyone else?”

“Oh, that’s right!  They went to get lunch from the hotel restaurant!  I’ll go down and let them know that you’ll be joining us.  Want me to order anything for you?”

Emerald’s expression had to drop at the newfound knowledge.  “Lunch?  But Qrow said it was bedtime!”

“It was just an expression sweetie.”  The older man deadpanned as he placed his hands behind his head.

“I told you not to call me that.”  Emerald responded eyes narrowing.

“Uhhhh….”  Ruby interjected, not exactly sure what to say.  Emerald looked back in her direction and remembered that Ruby had asked her a question.

“Oh, I-I’ll be down shortly so don’t worry about ordering for me.  You can go on ahead without me.”

Ruby hummed in thought as her eyes narrowed to examine Emerald more closely.  “Alright!”  And with more rose petals Ruby burst down the hallway while waving behind her.  “I see you downstairs shortly then!”

The mintette giggled at the crimsonette’s antics as Qrow moved passed her to go in his young niece’s same direction.

“Hey Qrow…”  Emerald began trying to catch his attention.  The man in question paused and simply quirked his head slightly upward to show he was listening.  “I-I just wanted to say thanks…”  Emerald finished, with one hand grabbing her opposing elbow.

Qrow turned to face her before shrugging.  “Don’t worry about it, although there is one last thing I want to say.”

Emerald titled her head before Qrow met her gaze and gave her his thoughts.  “You know that you can’t keep the truth from Ruby forever.  Heck, it may be hypocritical of me to be saying this but, she’s gunna find out the truth eventually.”

“I know…”  Emerald’s head dropped as she worked through her thoughts.  “I just, I’m scared she might not forgive me just yet… I… I need more time.”

“Fair enough.”  Qrow deadpanned as he began to turn back towards the hall.  “But just know the longer you wait, the longer you give Ruby the chance to figure it out herself instead of hearing it from you.  And, trust me, no matter how bad the truth is, it’s better when it comes from you instead of someone else.”

“Don’t worry I know.”  Emerald couldn’t help but loose a humorless chuckle.  “If there’s one thing my semblance has taught me, it’s that no illusion can last forever.”

Qrow rolled his eyes at that statement before gesturing down the hall behind him.  “You ready to get some grub.”

“Sure.”  Emerald stated while suppressing a chuckle.  She couldn’t help but think herself crazy but, in this moment, she felt ready for just about anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so that happened. Honestly, I was tempted to make Qrow and Summer Ruby's real parents and have Qrow leave Ruby with Taiyang because he blames himself for Summer's death and couldn't let his semblance hurt Ruby either, but I couldn't figure out how to make that work with Yang feeling obligated to be the mother figure after the one that raised her and Ruby broke their father's heart. I did like the idea of Qrow looking out for Ruby though because of guilt for not saving Summer, but that may just be me. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed and please give me feedback if you find any problems with this.


	3. Completing a World of Color

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so stoked about the comments I've been getting on this fanfic! Of course I will have to warn everyone that things are going to be a little different this chapter. Namely, that other characters are getting their share of the spotlight. I also hope no one was expecting any plot to develop because this fic is mainly to explore the reactions characters would have after the traumatic experience of Beacon Tower's fall. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and feel free to comment.

Weeks had been passing by and there was a general frustration amongst the group that nothing was changing.  Qrow had taken the traveling band of Beacon students to the headmaster of Haven where they had discussed being enrolled temporarily until Beacon Tower was reconstructed.  Of course, the real reason was that Ruby and her current companions wanted to be enrolled so that they could keep a close eye out for any of Cinder or Salem’s schemes that may have worked their way into the Mistralian school, but the headmaster denied them enrollment, claiming that they couldn’t accept transfers without the proper paperwork from the current headmaster or similar authority.

Qrow immediately evacuated all the ex-students of Beacon out of the office where they assumed he raged up a storm with more cussing than he felt could befit their young adult ears.  Of course, when he came out he looked even more frustrated at the situation, muttering how Professor Lionheart was such a coward who was blatantly ignoring the depth of the situation they were in.  He later asked Emerald if she knew whether Salem had begun any form of infiltration into Haven Academy.  She couldn’t say for certain, but remembered that Dr. Watts was supposed to meet with their contact in Mistral, but Salem didn’t say who that contact was.

So, they were stuck back at their hotel, trying to figure out how they could possibly stop imminent disaster from striking Mistral.  Eventually, Qrow left to try to find the Spring Maiden before one of Salem’s agents could, leaving Ruby in charge with the six of them that were left.

Deciding that there wasn’t much they could do about the school, Ruby decided that they should focus their energies on taking on the White Fang and trying to take Salem’s army from under her.  Of course, Yang wasn’t too pleased when Emerald somehow managed to always have information on where they might strike next, or locations of possible meetings.  Yang tried to inform her little sister that it wasn’t smart to rely too much on their ex-villain comrade since she could just be buying their trust to lead them into a trap.

Of course, now Yang was wondering if she should’ve kept her mouth shut since that promptly got her assigned a recon mission with said ex-villain.  The two of them tried to protest the notion.  Emerald claiming that she would be better at working alone or with Ren who was also skilled in stealth, while Yang argued that Emerald wasn’t needed in any of these operations and they could do just fine without her.  Yang was willing to prove it to, by taking down the White Fang herself.

Their arguments were in vain as Ruby claimed it would be a great bonding experience and that they both had compatible fighting styles with a differing skill-set so they could balance each other out and watch for each other’s weaknesses as she pushed them both on the train that would lead to the abandoned storage holds near the main kingdom.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The worst part was when they finally followed a couple of Fang members that stopped and secured the perimeter of the building that the duo suspected to be where the White Fang was storing all their dust, Emerald told Yang to wait there and stand guard before booking it on her own.  Yang didn’t even have time to tell her that they were supposed to work together, or some other stupid nonsense that Ruby would have said to make them get along.  She just left.

Just like Raven.

Just like Blake.

Left her alone leaning against a rock while pulling at the grass and willing all those stupid thoughts to just _leave her alone_.

Alone… kinda like how she always ends up.

And why in the hell did Ruby send her on this stupid mission with Emerald if that stupid crook was just gunna ditch her.  Didn’t Ruby care about her anymore?

Probably not… Ruby left her too…

No!  She wasn’t going to think like that.  She was fine.  Ruby was fine.  And if Emerald had any plans on fucking any of that up Yang would make her regret ever stumbling into her baby sister’s life.

But… what did she care anymore?

Ruby _left_ her.  Just like everyone else.  When Ruby told the brawler that she was going to Mistral Yang tried to talk her out of it.  It’s too reckless.  Too dangerous.  You’ll never make it Ruby, you should just stay.

Please, just stay Ruby.

Yang couldn’t admit that she needed her.  Being the big sister, Yang was supposed to be strong and unbreakable.  If she couldn’t be strong for her baby sister then who was going to be?

But Yang needed somebody too.  Anybody.

And Blake left her.

Yang risked life and limb to save the closest friend she made during her entire stay at Beacon.  She lost a limb.

Maybe she should’ve lost the life instead.

Is that why Ruby left her?  Because she asked Weiss to look for her errant sister instead of searching for Ruby herself?  Would things have been different if she had asked Weiss to look for Blake while she attended to her big sister duties of guaranteeing her baby sister’s safety?

Not that any of that matters anymore.

It doesn’t matter whether Yang chose Ruby or Blake, or lost an arm or a life, or if either of them had died or anything!

She made her decision.

And she lost two of the most important people of her life.

_A piece of me is gone, and it’s never coming back!_

The brawler unclenched her metallic hand as blades of grass blew through her unfeeling fingers.

_Have you thought about going after her?  Trying to bring her home?_

Metallic fingers clutched the ground grabbing more dirt than grass.

_Don’t leave me too, Dad!_

She was so scared.  So certain that he would.  Just like everyone else in her life.

She wondered if she could ever express the full extent of her gratitude that he stayed.

Of course, then she left him.

She knew he was right.  She wasn’t ready yet, but Yang didn’t think she would ever be ready if she didn’t make things right.  She was a failure as a big sister.  A failure as a friend.  If she couldn’t fix these things then she’d never be able to do anything!

Of course, there was still the issue that she had no idea where Blake was.

_She’s gone, and she’s never coming back._

Shut up.

_Just let go Yang._

Shut up!

_No point in holding onto what’s gone._

“I SAID SHUT UP!!!”

Sirens blared and Yang flinched at the sound while berating herself for her stupid ruminations.  She jumped to her feet and started bolting towards the sight of the building that was glowing red from its warning sirens.  Leave it to Emerald to botch up a job while Yang wasn’t around.

The two White Fang soldiers that were securing the perimeter were discussing whether they needed to stay or support those fighting inside, until one noticed Yang storming forward unfazed at the sight of opposition.  The closest soldier grabbed their sword and swung a high horizontal slash.  Yang ducked under the assault, grabbed the assailant’s sword-arm and swung him into the other guard that was rushing to assist.  She didn’t have time to waste with these bozos.  She needed to get in there and find Emerald.

And give her hell for fucking everything up.

* * *

 

“Nighty-night kids!”

Emerald shut the door to the utility closet quietly behind her before stalking through the hallway to find where they might have some form of main database that could help them fight the White Fang more effectively.  Seriously, infiltration jobs were far too easy.  Yeah, she appreciated Ruby’s concern, but some jobs are only done right if done alone.

Emerald rounded the corner and followed the hallway to where she had been informed an elevator was to be found.  Using the keycard, she entered the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor that was supposed to lead to a conference room connected to a short-range communication tower that may have more information on the White Fang’s other outpost locations as well as motives.

The doors to the elevator closed as Emerald bounced from heel to toe waiting for the elevator to get to its desired location.

She never got that far.

The sudden blaring of sirens filled her ears as the elevator stopped in its place.

“INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!”

Emerald couldn’t refrain from cussing under her breath.  There was no way she was found out, she covered her tracks too perfectly.  Which must have meant…

“Yang.”

Emerald groaned as she rolled her eyes.  What was Ruby thinking making Yang join her on a stealth mission?

Emerald tried hitting the elevator buttons, but the damned thing refused to move.

“Figures,” Emerald muttered under her breath as she pulled out one of her pistols to shoot the escape hatch.  She climbed out of the elevator and transformed her pistol into its chain-scythe form and swung it to act as a grappling hook that would get her to the next level.

The ex-thief scaled her way up and swung into the fourth-floor hall where a group of about seven White Fang members were rushing through at the end of the hall to the left.

“Hey!”  A voice behind her called out.  “You’re not supposed to be here!”

Seeing that the crowd was too distracted running to wherever that door led to bother with her she turned to see the lone Fang member who began to open fire, but the new-found intruder simply disappeared.

The gunman lowered his arms and looked around for his quarry, which didn’t last long since Emerald swiftly slashed him across the abdomen with her right sickle.  Turning in time to the faunus’ buckle, she fired a shot from her left pistol into his back and finished by grabbing him with her chain-scythe, circling for moment only to throw him hard against the ground.

Emerald gave a smirk as she walked over the Fang member towards the end of the hall that the group earlier had rushed through earlier.

“You really need to work on your hospitality.  So, impolite.”

The illusionist sauntered over to her chosen location, used her key-card to unlock it, “And behind door number 1…”

Stairs.

Of course it would be stairs.

Releasing a sigh and rushing towards the sound of footsteps below her she fought off the temptation to just abandon Yang to her fate and deal with Ruby’s complaints later.

Though she couldn't promise Yang would be any better off once Emerald found her.

* * *

 

Waiting in the shadows, a lone figure takes stock of the current situation they have found themselves in.  Hiding behind the large crates that most probably contained unfathomable amounts of dust, they found themselves in an area that seemed to operate as both a hanger as well as a warehouse.  Straight ahead, there’s an airship that was guarded by five White Fang members as another three were inspecting the latest dust heisted.  Four more appeared to be inspecting the plane inside, if what this figure was eavesdropping could be trusted.  And beyond the hanger area appeared to be a platform that acted as an elevator that led to the main building.

If there was to be any information on the Fang’s operations within this facility, the figure would have to find it past the hanger and in that main building.

“Alright Sun, you ready?”  The faunus paused before turning towards her partner.  “Sun?”

Well, she turned to where she last saw her partner.  Suddenly red lights were blaring as an unnecessarily loud warning siren went off.  Cat ears drooped as her palm went straight to her face with a sigh.

“BLAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!”

Even without her cat ears, the faunus in question could hear the frantic footsteps of her partner and the rapid gunfire that was being generated behind him.  Although those sounds did make it difficult to hear her own thoughts on why she thought it would be a good idea to bring him along on her exploits.   Seriously, what part of “stealth mission” did he fail to understand?!

“QUICK!!!”  The faunus was cutoff mid-thought by the sudden arrival of her impulsive partner as he jumped over the crates to reappear right where he was _supposed_ to be.  “HIDE THE SPOILS!!!  WE CAN’T LET THEM HAV’EM BACK!!!”

Ah, that’s right.  How ridiculous to ask which of the two words he didn’t understand since he clearly didn’t understand either of them.  “Sun, please don’t tell me you seriously compromised our mission just to raid the White Fang’s refrigerator.”

“Blake!  Don’t undermine my abilities and hold your share of the food, I can’t fight carrying all this stuff!”  The monkey-tailed prankster exclaimed while moving his arms to gesture she needed to lighten his load before he dropped a single morsel of it.

“Sun!  Seriously?!”  Blake shouted, arms flailing in a way that might have measured how disappointed she was with his antics.  “We don’t need to steal food!  Dad gave me enough money to buy any amount of food we could possibly need!”

“PFFFT!!! I don’t _buy_ my food Blake.”  Sun said, retracting his hard-earned prizes from the unworthy and uncompromising cat faunus.  “It’s a matter of principle.”

The black-themed figure rolled her eyes and gave a groan.  “What what kind of ‘principle’ could that possibly be Sun?”

“Well-”

“They’re behind here!”

The two partners turned towards the voice as the Fang member that found them began to open fire.  Blake pushed Sun out of the way before using a shadow clone to propel her into the air as she fired back at the assaulting Fang member.

Sun stumbled forward, unprepared for Blake’s push, he fell and spilled his stolen goods all over the ground, muttering complaints to himself about the loss of high quality food as he got up and brushed himself off.  However, when he got to his feet and looked around, he was surrounded by six members of the White Fang.

“PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!!!”

Sun noisily complied in his casual way, “Alright, alright.  You don’t need to yell or anything, yeesh!”

The Fang member at the head of the circle nodded at another who stepped towards Sun to take him into custody, but as she got close Sun used his tail to grab her wrists and flung the unsuspecting recruit at an enemy across from them.  Then, using the momentum from his last attack, he slammed the staff form of Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang down onto a third Fang member.

One of the members began to fire on the monkey-tailed faunus who broke his staff into nunchakus to deflect the bullets and began to fire back using the shotgun function of his weapon.  The firing member fell as the last two tried to swarm Sun, dodging and deflecting the bullets he was sending their way.  One of them got close and brought their sword down in a vertical slash towards Sun.

Sun, however, managed to side-step the attack and sent a high kick into the recruit’s temple before rejoining Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang into staff form to spin behind his final assailant, trip him behind both the knees and them slamming the staff into the Fang member’s abdomen.

Rising back to his feet Sun chuckled as he fixed back the strands of hair that had fallen in his face during the endeavor.  “What noobs.”

Turning to look for his partner, Sun noticed that Blake had not only dispatched five members of the White Fang during his encounter, but was also halfway across the hangar, using her semblance to both incapacitate the enemy as well as traverse the space.  Making Sun suddenly worried that if he didn’t catch up, Blake may very well leave him behind.

Stumbling forward trying to gain as much speed as possible Sun hurried his way towards the shadowy blur of the cat faunus’ fighting frenzy as he hoped Blake would hear him.  “Hey, Blake!  Wait up!!”

Of course, Blake didn’t hear the shouts of her partner being too busy dispatching the White Fang members that were left to be contended with.  She used the bladed sheath of Gambol Shroud to knock back a sword strike from one of her assailants to bring down the katana on her enemy, slashing from shoulder to hip.  Once that enemy was out of the picture, she used a shadow clone to zip towards the next nearest enemy, jumped in the air and began spinning in the air, allowing her momentum to guide the chain scythe version of Gambol Shroud to slash into the next enemy.  She landed in a roll as another member of the White Fang ran at her with their own sword to attack.  Blake saw their charge and used a shadow clone to boost her speed before she was fully upright, slashing her assailant across the abdomen as she rose fully to her feet behind them bringing her face to face with another enemy.

The enemy attacked with a horizontal slash, which she managed to avoid with a roll to the side as she used Gambol Shrouds chain scythe mode to wrap around her target's abdomen and threw her at another Fang recruit who had just come out of the airship.

Blake stopped to catch her breath when she heard something directly behind her and pointed Gambol Shroud in pistol form at the intruder to her momentary peace.

“Surrender or I’ll fire!!!”

Blake scoffed, “You really think that’ll-”

The cat faunus didn’t get to finish her remark however as Sun planted the heels of both his feet in the back of the enemy’s skull and rolled forward to find himself face to face with Blake when the momentum brought him fully to his feet pausing to catch his breath.

“Whooo!  Glad I caught up to you.  You know, the White Fang’s not going anywhere, you don’t have to rush off like that.”

Blake turned to fix her gaze on the elevator that should lead to the main building as she replied.  “I’m sorry, I thought that you might need to make another food raid so I figured I would go on ahead and finish things up here.”

“Whu-?!  Hey!  That is so unfair!  I mean-” Sun cut himself off from his laments before pointing at Blake in an accusatory tone.  “Wait a minute, you pushed me on purpose didn’t you!”

The cat faunus turned to give her friend a playful smirk before responding.  “Well, someone had to make sure you didn’t get caught in that gunman’s fire.  Now come on, we’ve got work to do.”

Blake began to move forward as Sun followed behind trying to verbalize his complaints when a loud voice came from overhead.

“FREEZE!!!!!”

The two faunus looked at the overpasses above them.  They were surrounded.  There were twenty, perhaps thirty people, all with their guns pointed down on them.

“PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR NOW!!!”

Both complied to the order as the blond turned to his companion.  “Uh… Blake?”

“I’m thinking!”  She snapped back as she watched three White Fang members get on the elevator platform to apprehend them.  They could possibly use the airship as a buffer to hide from the fire and create an ambush there.  Assuming that the White Fang wouldn’t blow it up just to get the two of them.  There had to be a way out-

The cat faunus was suddenly distracted by the sound of gunshots and she stiffened expecting them to crash against her aura until it tore her body apart.  Except her aura was never touched.  She reassessed the scene and saw the multitude of White Fang members fighting amongst themselves as the three that had descended to their level of the hangar had been gunned down.  There were shouts and clanging swords amidst gunshots as the White Fang kept attacking each other, completely oblivious to Sun and Blake still standing beneath them in the open.  Eventually, there was only one member left who was quickly dispatched with a gunshot, and Sun and Blake readied themselves for whoever it was that had induced this carnage.

Of course, they weren’t prepared for the clicking of heels that had suddenly arrived behind them.

“Well, you’re not the blonde that I was looking for.”

The two faunus turned to find the smirking figure of Emerald Sustrai standing about ten feet before them.

“Uh… Wha-”

“Don’t come any closer!”

Sun’s confused mumble was cut off with the sound of Blake’s snarl as she readied her pistol at the latest arrival.  Emerald took a step back and raised her hands in the air.

“Whoa, Blake!  No need for that, I’m on your side now.”

“Likely story!”

“Blake, what’s going on?”

“Shut up, Sun!”

“Blake, I’m serious.  I’m not here to be your enemy.”

“Then what are you here for?”

“I’m looking for Yang.”

BANG!!!

“Holy fuck!!!  Blake!!”

“The next one goes through your head.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

“Blake, seriously, do you have to-”

“I told you to _shut it_ Sun!”

This wasn’t good.  Emerald thanked whatever gods or goddesses might have existed that convinced Blake to give her a warning shot.  The blast from it still rang in her ear as the bullet had flown way too close to her for comfort.  Of course, mentioning Yang seemed to rile Blake up even more.  Seriously, what had happened to them during the fall of Beacon?  Ruby would only tell her that after the school was destroyed her team broke up, but no specifics.  And no one else was willing to even discuss the event.

However, Emerald still had some information that may be of use.  It wasn’t as recent as Beacon’s fall, but it just might get her out of this mess.

“Blake, I understand your resentment towards me, but I’m done with Cinder.  There was no place for me in the world that she wanted to create.  As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure if there’s a place for her in it.  And I refuse to take part in creating a world that simply reflects the evils in this one.”  Emerald moved her gaze to meet Blake’s, grimace refusing to retreat.  “You understand don’t you Blake?  I… I know that you followed a similar path before finding a better way…”

The cat faunus’ expression softened slightly at this and Sun noticed the slight change in her posture.

“Blake, maybe we should just let her go…”

Cat ears flattened as Blake tensed shaking her head.   “You don’t know what she’s do-”

An explosion rang through the hangar as a familiar voice rang out a shout towards their next desired victim.

“EMERALD!!!!!!!”

The woman in question flinched at the volume and prayed that Yang’s arrival would help the situation she had blundered into.

But Yang was definitely not planning on showing any mercy to anyone in her way given how inflamed her hair was and the deepness of the crimson color of her eyes.

“EMERALD!!! How the FUCK did you FUCK THIS UP!?!?  SERIOUSLY!!! What could have… possibly…”

The blonde’s voice grew softer as her eyes and hair began to lose their intensity before she came to a stop just a few feet behind Emerald.

“Blake?”

“Y-Yang?”

The two locked gazes for a moment before their eyes wandered to the places they knew would make them regret this meeting.

There was that sleeve to Yang’s right side that was filled, but Blake knew that Celica Ember couldn’t be attached to the arm it knew since…

Blake flinched and the brawler noticed Sun beside her as her thoughts wandered to the places they always seemed to.

_I had a partner…_

_There must be a reason-_

Yeah Ruby, what reason would Blake have to abandon the brawler and run off with Sun?!

Yang’s fists clenched as her hair flared up in intensity.  Yang tried to clench her eyes shut and shake the thoughts out of her head, but the tears wouldn’t stop welling up within her eyes.

And Blake couldn’t help but notice Yang’s escalating heat.

“Well… Yang…”  Sun began to try to alleviate the tension.  “This is rather… Uh… Whoa!  Wait!”

But she didn’t wait.  All she could do was the same thing she always did.

Blake ran.

She couldn’t face it.  Yang’s anger.  Her own guilt.  There was just too much of both to bear.

Sun turned and glanced back at Emerald and Yang before chasing after the cat faunus, causing Yang to cry out “WAIT!!!  STOP!!!” as she stumbled forward to try to catch up.

Yang pushed past Emerald before the mintette could fully grasp what was going on as she tried to call Yang back.  Of course, Yang didn’t hear her and, giving a groan, the illusionist followed along with the chase.

Blake had managed to leave the White Fang facilities and to cut her way through the woods beyond the abandoned village, purposefully leaving behind shadow clones to both speed her escape as well as mislead those following her.

Which was irritating Sun greatly.

If he hadn’t gotten the head start and followed suit as soon as he did he probably would have missed her completely.  Eventually, however, he couldn’t figure out where Blake’s true form went after he caught up to one of her shadow clones.

“Blake!!!  Blake, where’d you g-”

The blond faunus got tackled to the ground as Yang straddled him with both barrels of Celica Ember stared down at him.

“WHERE’D SHE GO!!!!!”

“Whoa!  Yang!  Calm down!  We’re-”

“SHUT UP AND JUST TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!!!!!”

“Yang!  Stop!!!  Get off him!!!”

“YOU GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!”

Another gunshot.  One that caused Yang’s red eyes to immediately turn lavender as she saw the scene beyond her smoking gauntlets.  That was Emerald’s voice wasn’t it?!  Yang couldn’t have mistaken that voice.

So why was Blake in front of her bleeding against a tree?!

“Nononononono no no No No NO!!!!!”

Yang rushed over to the cat faunus’ form as she tore her sleeve off with her metallic arm.  She knelt down by Blake and began applying pressure to the left side of her head.  But there was so much blood that continued to leak past the makeshift bandage and stain Yang’s metallic hand.

“Blake!  I’m  so-…  I mean, I would never…  I mean, I didn’t mean…”

Yang continued.  Rambling on as she tried to fix the gap she created in Blake’s skull, as she used all her willpower to try to keep the tears from falling.  She didn’t mean to.  She was sorry.  She would never hurt Blake.

Only she just did.

Yang applied more pressure and leaned slightly closer as she tried to figure out how she could possibly fix this, pleading with the cat faunus.

“Please Blake… Please… Don’t leave me again…”

“Yang…”

The brawler’s eyes snapped open as she turned towards the voice.  “Emerald quick!!!  Call Ruby, Jaune, anybody!  We should be within range of contacting them!!!  Tell them Blake needs help!!  HURRY!!!”

Yang turned back to Blake to assure her that everything would be fine, but Blake wasn’t there.  The cat faunus was gone, as was the blood that had collected on her torn sleeve.

She was completely gone.

“Blake?  Blake?!  No!!”

The brawler began to panic as she got back up to her feet searching for any clue as to where her friend could be until Emerald grabbed hold of her.

“Yang!!!”  The mintette shook the blonde forcefully trying to garner her attention.  “Yang calm down!  Tell me what’s wrong so I can help!”

“Emerald, there’s no time for that!!”  The brawler announced while removing the ex-thief’s hands from her shoulders.  “Blake’s hurt!  I shot her and-”

“Yang, what are you talking about!?  Blake’s not here!  She ran off, remember?”

“Your wrong!  Sun will…”

The blonde turned to where she had Sun pinned, but he had disappeared to.  Yang started looking around, slightly disoriented before turning towards Emerald.  “Where’d he go!?”

“He left Yang..” the mintette began, choosing her words carefully to not provoke another outburst from her.  “You fired a shot, but you didn’t hit anybody.  However, you got… distracted… I guess… Sun ran off while you weren’t paying attention.”

The blonde began to look around, trying to verify Emerald’s words.  There was a bullet hole in the tree that Blake had been leaning against, but no blood.  No blood on her metal hand or torn shirt sleeve either.  Yang looked down at the cloth, clutched tightly in her prosthetic as she clenched her eyes and fell to the ground.  Tears freely falling.

“This is all my fucking fault, isn’t it?!”

Emerald paused.  She had seen Yang lash out and withdraw within herself, but she had never seen Yang cry.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, if I had been stronger!  Or if I had been able to save her!  Or if I weren’t such a fucking failure…”  Yang cried as her eyes stared back at the cloth in her metallic fingers.  The last time she had seen Blake, those fingers were flesh.  And Blake seemed to slip through those fingers again.  Yang choked as she let out another sob.  “It’s all my fault…”

Emerald let out a sigh.  She was not very well-versed in comforting others, but Yang clearly needed someone right now.  Actually, looking back, Emerald realized that Yang probably needed someone for a while.  And watching this scene the ex-thief couldn’t help but wonder if anybody had really recovered from the carnage at Beacon.

_Please Blake… Please… Don’t leave me again…_

“Yang…”  Emerald knelt down so to be eye level with the distraught blonde.  “Yang, don’t blame yourself.  I’m the one at fault here.”

Yang paused to meet Emerald’s gaze before the mintette continued.  “Look, I don’t exactly know what happened after the Grimm managed to invade the city, but I know that you’re suffering because of the aide I provided Cinder in attacking Beacon Tower… And I’m sorry.”

Yang wiped the tears from her eyes as she let her gaze drift to the side.  She couldn’t look Emerald in the eye.  Especially not when those eyes reflect what color hers had just been.

“I don’t care about that anymore…”  The soft voice spoke, devoid of any life.

Emerald waited to see if Yang would elaborate, but the brawler seemed content to just sit there until Salem brought about the end of the world.  The mintette sighed before trying again.  “Yang I know that your suffering and I’m sorry but… you also aren’t the only one suffering.”  The blonde flinched at this and the illusionist decided to clarify, “I mean.  What happened at Beacon didn’t just hurt you… I know Blake’s suffering from the aftermath… and I don’t think she’s gone forever.”

“What makes you so sure…” lavender eyes barely peeked to look towards Emerald like a slight hope that could be readily extinguished at a moment’s notice.

“Because she still needs you Yang.  And what she needs isn’t the part of you that’s gone.  It’s the part of you that’s left.  That part of you that I know needs her right now too.”

Yang sniffed as she looked Emerald in the eyes and the mintette gave the blonde the most comforting smile she could muster.  “She doesn’t need me Emerald.  She’s got Sun.”

“Yang.”  Emerald had to refrain from groaning in frustration.  She was so close to making everything better!  Instead she sighed.  “Yang… yes, Sun is with her, but he can’t help her fully, because a lot of her pain is tied to you…”

Yang flinched and looked away while her metal hand dug deeper into her torn cloth sleeve.  She didn’t want to discuss what had happened.  Why she couldn’t let go.

Emerald noticed these behaviors and tried to back-track.  “I mean, I don’t know what happened and if you don’t want to tell me I don’t need to know but… well… how you reacted to Blake’s name when Ruby first brought me to your base-”

Yang couldn’t stifle the snort that came in response.  “Yeah, I guess I was pretty obvious…”

The illusionist smirked at this response.  “Yeah, well, believe it or not Blake was even more obvious.  Actually, she went straight for downright violent.”

Yang smirked as a silent chuckle seemed to shake her shoulders.  Yang hadn’t smiled since Emerald had joined the team.  Maybe even some time before that.

“And Qrow says I’m the firecracker.”

Emerald broke into a grin.  It wasn’t a bad pun but it was _something_.  “Yeah, you’d better watch out.  With Blake’s trigger-happy agenda she may just steal your title.”

The smile faded from Yang’s face before she turned away again.  “You’re lying.  Blake never loses her composure in battle.”

“I’m not lying Yang.”  Emerald’s voice returned stern.  “Besides, Blake’s strong point may be her ability to keep her composure on the battlefield, but there are exceptions.  And I found that your one of them.”

“But I’m such a failure.”

“You’re only a failure when you decide to give up.”

Yang looked back to Emerald, brows crossed in a questioning glance at the mintette.

“You’re a failure when you decide to give up because you let defeat define who you are.  You’re not a failure Yang.  You’re still fighting.”

Yang glanced up at Emerald before shifting her gaze back at the cloth in her hand.  She thought her dad was exaggerating when he said she wasn’t ready.  It was just fighting, it’s what she was good at.  But then the nightmares came back.  She had Ruby again and her remaining friends from Team JNPR.  And Blake suddenly showed up again.

Things were easier when she accepted the loss and stayed at her dad’s place.  After all, there’s no risk in losing the people you don’t have anymore.

When being a failure was all Yang had to worry about.

“Besides Yang,” The blonde turned back towards the voice, distracted out of her thoughts.  “Ruby needs you to.  We all do.  If we don’t help each other recover from the suffering the Fall of Beacon brought then we’ll never be able to truly rely on each other.”  Emerald looked away, hoping the guilt wouldn’t be evident in her face.  “If we don’t find a way to work together we’ll fail.”

“And that won’t make us failures.”

“It will if we give up on fixing things amongst ourselves.”  Emerald got up and brushed herself off before extending a hand towards Yang.  “Come on.  Let’s go report back to Ruby.  The White Fang have probably cleared out any data that would’ve been of use to us after they found out they were invaded.”

The brawler placed her torn cloth in one of her coat pockets before accepting Emerald’s offer.  “We can’t just go back to Ruby with no info.  We could try to go back.”

Emerald shrugged at this.  “If you want to, we could try, however I doubt we’ll find much after our fiasco.  They could’ve wiped all the data and increased security in case we returned and ambush us.  Besides…” the mintette paused, waiting for Yang to finish stretching out the soreness in her legs from all the sitting she was doing.  “I’m sure Ruby would be more interested in learning who we ran into.”

Yang sighed before daring a sideways glance at Emerald.  “You sure it’s alright if we head back?”

Emerald nodded as a small smile pulled at her lips.  “Yeah, and I know Ruby would be fine with it to.  And if not, I’ll talk to her.”

“Yeah…”  Yang gave Emerald a small smile.  “Thanks Em.”

The mintette was taken aback.  Yang hadn’t called her that since they were at Beacon.  She recollected herself and gave Yang a smile and a nod.  “Yeah, of course!”

Yang’s smile remained for a moment.  Maybe they were right.  Maybe Emerald wasn’t that bad.  Maybe things would work out.

Maybe Blake would come back.

_I had someone very dear to me…_

Yang clenched her eyes.  Of course, she wasn’t going to come back.  Yang gave her more than enough reason not to.  Yang already proved to her partner beforehand that she was a failure.

But this last encounter proved something else about Yang.

And she would continue to deteriorate if she didn’t let go.

“Uh, Yang.  The way back to town is this way.”

“Huh?  Oh, right.”  Yang hadn’t noticed that she’d wandered off and ran back to Emerald.  Her metallic hand went back for the cloth in her pocket.

How was she supposed to let go?

* * *

 

They existed in a world of color, an element that had been valued as a symbol to individuality.  However, just as some individuals were more privileged than others, some colors were also symbols of being inferior to others.

Black was one such color.

Black was always used as a symbol for being tainted, an impurity, an evil to be cast out or destroyed.

At best, it was a symbol of an absence.  An emptiness simply waiting to be filled.

Perhaps that’s what drove her to join the White Fang.  To prove to the world that the color her namesake was inspired by did not signify an evil or a lack.  That the cat ears atop her head did not tarnish her personhood nor did they take away from it.

Because in actuality, those cat ears were what made her whole.  That if she were simply born without those ears she may still be a whole person, but she wouldn’t be the same person, and that she couldn’t exist as the same person if they were lost.

Just like how a world with light could not exist without darkness.  Or perhaps, one does exist, but it wouldn’t be the same world they lived in, and their world would be incomplete if the darkness somehow was lost.

This was the message that she wanted to convey in her namesake.  That blackness wasn’t existing to challenge the whiteness, but instead to fulfill it.  That blackness wasn’t a symbol of a lack or absence, but instead that white would be lacking and absent if the blackness wasn’t there to complete it.

To her, black became a symbol of completeness, and although there may exist a world where only white or only black exist in those realms, their world would feel the loss if either went missing.

Black was a symbol at coexistence.  Of equality.

Of peace.

But of course, this world was comprised of more colors than just black and white, and some of those colors were ones that she couldn’t help but believe she could live without.

One of those colors was red.

The red blade of Wilt.

The red eyes of Yang.

The red glow of Adam when he’s charged up is semblance to deliver a killing blow.

The red blood that flowed from Yang as she fell victim to Adam’s self-righteous fury.

She began to see red as a symbol of fear.  Of anger.

Of hate.

She didn’t want to believe that.  That the color wasn’t what was corrupted, but instead the person portraying it, but those eyes.

And his sneer.

And they weren’t always like that.

It was as if they were tainted.  Corrupted.

Blackened.

ENOUGH!!!!!

A fist slammed down on the nearest tree trunk as she recollected herself.  She was still in the forest and it didn’t sound like anybody else was near.  Of course she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even realize where she was going or how far behind everyone else was in relationship to her.

She just ran.

She slumped down against the tree trunk she had just hit, tears sliding down her cheeks at the same rate she slid to the ground.  But now wasn’t the time for that she would berate herself as she hurriedly tried to dam up her thoughts and the emotions that came with them, rubbing the back of her hands against either eye as she sat in the middle of the forest.  She thought she might have heard a gunshot somewhere.  Or maybe she heard the gunshot while she was running.

She couldn’t remember.

She couldn’t even remember why she thought any of this was a good idea.  Why she thought it was worthwhile.

_WHAT YOU WANT IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!_

“Hey, Bla-”

The greeting was cut off by the sudden appearance of a pistol pointing in the face of the sudden arrival as shock painted both their faces.  The blonde faunus hanging upside down from a tree branch in front of the black-themed girl raised his arms with palms out to try to placate his friend.

“Hey!  Whoa!  Don’t you be getting trigger happy on me to!”

Blake’s shock faded as she let out a groan.  “SUN!!!  Why do you _always_ have to do that!?”

Dropping from the tree branch to stand over his friend he gave his chuckling rebuttal while extending a hand to help the cat faunus up.  “Hey, one of us needs to keep things real around here.  Besides, you know you love it.”

Blake grimaced as she brushed past the offered hand that immediately went to rub the back of Sun’s head as he watched her walk off.

“Or… not…”

Blake didn’t hear that part.  Well, in actuality she did, but it didn’t really register as she simply kept storming off forward, wherever that may lead.  Sun was quick to catch up though, concern riddling his features.

“Hey!  Blake!  Wait up!  Is everything okay!?”

“Shut up Sun.”

Of course, Sun didn’t.  But Blake’s words were barely above a mutter when Sun rounded on her, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her from her aimless march forward.

“Blake!  Hold up!  What’s going on?”

“I said SHUT UP SUN!!!”

“HEY! Wha-”

“YOU LIED TO ME!!!!!”

Sun had to pause for a moment.  “WHAT!!!  When have I _ever_ lied to you!?!?”

“You said… that… Yang…”

Blake had to stop.  The damned tears.  This wasn’t the time for that!  But they kept coming.  They wouldn’t stop!  And Blake just covered her face to hide the tears.  The shame.

The guilt.

And immediately the frustration building in Sun began to fade as he recollected the last time he had to comfort Blake.

_But I’d do it all again if it meant protecting you._

He turned to look at the friend that he had protected.  The friend who was now choking for breath as the tears threatened to drown her.

_And I can promise Yang would say the same._

“Hey, Blake.”

But Blake simply shook her head, rambling something unintelligible between sniffs and gasps as she tried to stop the tears, the pain, everything.

She shouldn’t have hoped that Yang would forgive her.  She said that she hoped that she and everyone else would hate her for leaving.  It would have been less painful for everyone.  If it weren’t for Sun, it would have even been less painful for her.

At least less painful than this.

“H-Hey, Blake.”  Sun moved closer to the crying faunus, trying to think of how he could possibly comfort her but she turned away.  He had to be there for her.  Who else would be there for her if he wasn’t?

The answer to that question became painfully obvious.

Sure, he was there for Blake when she ran away from her teammates when her faunus heritage was found out.  Of course, he realized that the only reason she told him any of that was because he was also a faunus and was in a better position to understand her choices than her human teammates.

After that moment, there was always one person who was truly there for her.

There was that moment when Team RWBY went after the White Fang and Blake began neglecting everything, including her health to try to get a lead on what they may be doing.  Sure, Sun asked if she was okay, but the dance was what was really on his mind.  And when she rejected him…

_Is she still being all… Blakey?_

_Guys, trust me, Blake will be at the dance tomorrow._

Obviously something was going on with Blake.  But what could Sun do?

What did Yang do?

Somehow, she managed to not only convince Blake to stop pushing everything and everyone away, but also to go to the dance.

And Sun was never good at helping with issues like that.  He was always around for the good times, but when things got bad he just… didn’t know.  Of course, he knew and hated the implication this had of him.  He was a fair-weather friend.  But what could you expect?  He was Sun Wukong!  And the Sun can only shine as bright as the lack of clouds in the sky.

But those clouds created shadow.  Gave Blake a place to fully exist.

And Sun hated cloudy days like he hated heavy moods.

They just made him feel so… helpless.

And he refused to be seen as vulnerable.

When he found Blake on the boat it was all flirts, jokes and small talk, but he refused to mention what had happened.  At least until Blake brought it up.  And he refused to mention what happened to Yang.

Because he couldn’t fix what had happened to Yang.  And Yang was the one who always helped her.

She even lost her arm to help her.

Ever since that moment, Sun tried to rationalize why he didn’t go to help her.  That he was weary from fighting.  But Yang never left the school and was probably fighting before he even showed up.  That he had his teammates to look out for.  But Yang’s sister was missing and no one had seen her since she jumped out of the airship to the school.  That he believed Blake would be okay regardless.

But she wasn’t.  And Yang didn’t waste her time with excuses.  She simply went.

And Sun realized that Blake could only forgive herself of what happened if Yang did.

“You’ve got to find Yang.”

Cat ears twitched as a confused sound resounded between too wet cheeks.  “What?”

“You’ve got to find Yang, Blake.”  The blond faunus said placing a hand on her shoulder trying to convey his resolve.  “You’re only going to keep tearing yourself up until you do.”

“No… No, she hates me Sun!”  The cat faunus shouted while shrugging off his hand.  “I fucked up and I can’t ever fix it!”

“You don’t know that!”

“And you do?!”

The two stared at each other for a moment.  Both letting the silence between them try to strengthen their conviction in their words.  Sun eventually rubbed the back off his head

“Look Blake…  Yang doesn’t hate you.  I mean…”  Should he tell her that Yang attacked him?  That she threatened him if he didn’t tell her where Blake was?  But what happened after that?  She just got up and ran to a tree screaming at the tree trunk that was “Blake” to be okay after Emerald showed up and tried to convince her to stop.  He didn’t really get what happened, but “I think she’s just as torn up about the way… you… left…”

He let the sentence die off.  He hated bringing these things up, and Blake seemed to have calmed down enough with only an occasional sniff to betray the pain she had been feeling.  He shook his head and started again.  “Look, Yang and Emerald stopped abut twenty yards that way.”  He stated, pointing just a little to the right of the tree Blake had rested on.  “If you start now, you can try to catch up to them and see if you can get a hold of Yang.  Now’s your best chance to find her.”

Blake’s gaze fell downward as she wiped the last of the tears from her eyes.  “What about you?”

Sun shrugged his shoulders as he tried to give a reassuring smile.  “I did tell Neptune and the guys I’d catch up.  Maybe I’ll check up on them.  Besides,” he gave a full grin now, needing a break in the maudlin mood, “it’d be rude of me not to check up on them since I’m in the area.”

Blake gave a small chuckle at this that caused Sun’s grin to beam.  Things were looking up.  “Thanks Sun.”

He waved his arm in a grand dismissive gesture.  “Meh, don’t worry about it.  Just be sure to visit me later.  I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Blake rolled her eyes as she gave her friend a small smirk.  “Maybe later.”  And she left before Sun could offer more banter to hold her up.  He started slowly trekking his own way to the train station that would take him back to Haven as he thought back to his encounter with Yang.  Why was she so violent?

He turned back to where Blake had left and sighed.  He really hoped this worked.

Because if it didn’t, neither Blake nor Yang would ever really recover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as soon as I read Lighdu's comment that I might have made Yang a little too antagonistic I got incredibly excited to getting this chapter out since I figured it would give some context as to why I made Yang that way. Also, other than Emerald eventually changing sides (which I am so hoping will happen soon) the moment I am looking forward to the most in this whole series is how will Blake and Yang react to each other when they finally meet up again. So I had to make yang and Blake the next focus in this chapter. I am planning on exploring how other characters are coping, so this fic may be a while. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and let me know if you find any problems, concerns, revelations, likeable qualities, or anything else that may arise with this chapter.


	4. What Can't be Let Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I literally just watched the Blake character short before posting this and I decided, Ilia's now up there in greatest characters with Velvet, Emerald and Yang. I mean, I will admit that I feel like Blake's fighting sequences just haven't been what they could be. I mean, if Blake could grappling hook her way to attacking a giant Nevermore in season 1 then I don't see why she needs Sun's help propelling her to attacking that dragon. Ugh... and yes, I'm still not over Pyrrha dying. Roosterteeth didn't even provide a spoiler tag for that one. Anyways, here comes another bees chapter just cuz we all know this is bound to happen. Please enjoy!

It was easy for Blake to follow Yang and Emerald to their hotel.  After finding them in the woods she managed to tail them to the train station, choosing a seat on the train that placed her far enough away to not be detected but close enough to keep an eye on them.  Neither one was able to detect her presence as she stalked them to where they were staying.  No that was easy.

What was difficult was convincing herself this was not just worthwhile, but _necessary_.  That she _needed_ to talk to Yang.  That she  _couldn't_ run away from this, because it was just  _too_ important.

Of course, once she got to the hotel’s front door her anxiety was beginning to win over her convictions.  Was it just Emerald and Yang within that hotel?  That couldn’t have been the case.  From the little she had seen of the two of them, they obviously wouldn’t have _chosen_ to work together on a mission.  They had to be working with others.  But who?  Ruby?  Last Blake knew she had disappeared on the top of Beacon Tower!  Of course, if Ruby did return, it would make sense why Emerald and Yang were paired together on a mission.  For some reason, Ruby thought the battlefield was the perfect place for some team building exercises.

What if she ran into Ruby in there?  What would the little red-head think of the cat faunus that abandoned her older sister?  What if Weiss was there to?

_The next time something this big comes up, you come to your teammates._

But this was much bigger, Blake would argue.  Of course, she knew that if she tried that line with Weiss it would’ve fallen on deaf ears.  'Even more reason to come to your teammates' she would reprimand.  But she wouldn’t understand!  Neither she nor Ruby would get it!

_And I hope they hate me for leaving._

_You don’t mean that._

_Yes I do!_

No… even she knew that she didn’t mean it… at least in part.  She really hoped that Ruby and Weiss would hate her for leaving.  But Yang…

To Blake it didn’t matter if she had stayed or left.  She _knew_ Yang would hate her regardless.

_Yang doesn’t hate you…_

You don’t know that!

_And I can promise Yang would say the same._

Lies!

_You guys believe me, right?...  Blake?_

_I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love._

ENOUGH!!!

Blake forced her way out of her thoughts.  This was bad.  If she kept ruminating in front of the hotel door like this someone would run into her, and that would just be pathetic.  She should just…

But she couldn’t.  Blake just couldn’t find the strength to approach the door and search for her friend.

She recoiled and was about to head away from the hotel.  Tell Sun she lost them or something when a voice flickered within feline eardrums.

“Aw… I can’t believe that the hideout ended up being a bust!  I was sure we’d finally get a lead somewhere!”

“Yeah… sorry about that Ruby.  Events kinda spiraled outta control so we came back.”

“Yeah… what happened?  Yang seems even more… well… she just seems a little… _not_ okay.  Like… even more not okay than usual…”

“Yeah, well, neither of us were physically hurt it’s just… umm… well we’ll give you a formal report tomorrow.  Yang went straight to the room across from us so I think she’s just gunna rest up.”

“Yeah… ok…”

Blake didn’t hear anything else they said.  She was too afraid to think right now given the circumstances.  She rushed to the other side of the building hoping that she’d reach the room that Yang was in and talk to her before her resolve weakened.  Counting the windows on the side she approximated the location of Yang’s room and found a tree that she could climb that would allow her to reach the room’s window.  But as soon as she climbed to the window she halted, frozen by the sight before her.

Yang was sitting on the foot of the bed furthest from the window, with the brawler’s right side facing the window.  She was wearing an orange tank top.  Just like the one that she had worn at Beacon, when she was dragging Ruby over to the quiet faunus in the corner to goad her baby sister into making friends.  But, this tank top didn’t have Yang’s emblem emblazoned on the front, and the short-shorts had been replaced with dark grey cargo pants.

But what really caught Blake’s attention, was the one thing that had haunted her since she abandoned her partner.

There was flesh there once.  A flesh-and-blood appendage that gripped a smaller one belonging to a little sister she was dragging across the school auditorium.  That has also been replaced with something that resembled the original, as Blake watched how Yang’s shoulder gave way to yellow and black about half-way down her upper arm, leaving her elbow, fingers and everything else in its range metallic.

Blake’s eyes caught something in the prosthetic fingers.  It looked like a piece of cloth that the fingers seemed to grip, and then release.  As if the fabric were some kind of stress ball the golden fingers continually clenched it within a tightened fist simply to release a moment later.  And Blake couldn’t help but notice that Yang’s gaze seemed just as fixated on those fingers as the cat faunus’ had been just a moment ago.

And there was just no way that Yang would ever forgive her for that!  Not after the way that she left her, or the things she had said to her!

Blake flinched as that memory came to the forefront of her mind.  She never even got to tell Yang she-

“Blake?”

Blake’s eyes snapped open.  When did Yang get up?  How did she not notice?  What was she supposed to do now?  She had to say something, anything!

“Y-Yang?’

Blake wanted so desperately to curse herself for stammering, but she just couldn’t.  She didn’t dare move or speak or anything lest it tip the balance of the universe and Yang were to disappear or, worse, drive her away.  Yang seemed equally stunned for a moment, but the moment faded fast and the blonde turned away, eyes cast to the ground.

“What do you want?”

“Yang, I… I…”  Blake couldn’t think of what to say.  Sure, she could say she was sorry, but no matter how many times she recanted that phrase to the unconscious Yang her arm never came back.  What was her apologies possibly be worth if they couldn’t do that?  But she had to say something.  “M-may I come in?”

The blonde’s left hand reached across to grab at where her arm turned from flesh to metal as she glanced at Blake only to turn the gaze away once more.  “I… I don’t know Blake.  The last time I let you in, I came out with even less of myself than I thought I'd ever lose.”

Blake’s mouth continued to open and close with no words coming out.  What was she supposed to say to that?!  Tears began to well up within her eyes as she tried so futilely to find a solution fix this situation.  This couldn’t be the end for them, could it?

Yang took a step back and place her metallic hand on the upper frame of the open window before meeting Blake’s amber orbs.  “Listen, Blake, if there’s nothing you need then-”

“WAIT!!!”  Blake scrambled, nearly falling out of the tree as she reached towards the window, placing a hand on the side of the window frame with her panicked call.  “Wait!  Can we talk?  Please!  I… I just want to talk…”

Blake met Yang’s lavender eyes and dared not to blink lest the blond were to be gone when she opened her eyes again, despite how the rising tears burned her eyes and begged her to release them from their prison.  “Please.”

Their eyes maintained contact but Blake’s feline ears flickered as she heard Yang’s grip tightening on the window frame and the faunus flinched at the inevitable slam that would come with the window shutting.

There was a sigh and Blake opened her eyes to see Yang’s golden hand reaching out to the faunus.  “Need help?”

Blake stared at the hand for a moment before catching Yang’s gaze with her own.  “Wha-”

“Hey, c’mon, if I don’t help you, you might be stuck there all night.  And you’re not gunna find a better firefighter around here…”

Blake blinked for a moment.  Was that supposed to be a joke?  Sure, it’s definitely one that Yang would say, but her tone, it’s so solemn and despondent.  As if all the joy in her life has been snuffed out and now there’s simply the remaining embers of who she used to be.  But Blake couldn’t think of that right now.  She wiped her eyes and grabbed the metallic appendage that cautiously led her through the window.  “Thank you.”

Yang quickly turned away as she gave a dismissive wave before flopping back onto the bed that she was sitting on previously.

Blake let out a sigh and chose to sit at the desk across from the blonde.  She watched the brawler’s form rise and fall with her breaths and secretly wished that Yang would sit upright and look her in the eyes instead of staring at the ceiling.  Not that the faunus was doing much better as her eyes began wandering around the room before fixating on the floor, searching for something to say.

“I… um… H-How… How’ve things been?”

Blake wanted to smack herself.  That was such a stupid question!

“Been better” was all the hollow voice of the husk left of Yang responded.  She didn’t move an inch from her position on the bed as her gaze seemed to still be fixed on the ceiling.

Blake began to fidget.  She wanted so badly for Yang to just look at her.  Or to grab her hand when her gestures flailed out at the seriousness of the White Fang situation.  Or to hug her after flaring her semblance against her because she was being too stubborn to bother taking care of herself.  Or to come up with some sassy remark or stupid pun or anything!!!  She wanted Yang to be Yang again!

There had to be a way to bring Yang back, right?  Blake had to keep trying.

“I… um…”  Come on, there had to be something the faunus could say to get Yang back.  “Is Ruby here to?”

That probably wasn’t it, but Blake wasn't sure what else would bring her back.

“Yeah.”  It was another one of those answers.  Short, despondent, like the point of a knife that stabbed right into the heart of a conversation to keep it from maintaining its life.

“I… I see…”  Now Blake was failing at coming up with things to say.  This wasn’t working!  But Blake didn’t know what else to say.  Yang was usually the one to initiate conversations and keep them flowing and the faunus knew it had to be obvious by now that she didn’t know what she was doing.  Maybe she'll happen to stumble on the right topic that'd work.

“What about Wei-”

“Blake…”  The girl in question suddenly froze.  The blonde started to lift her torso off the bed and leaned forward with elbows on her knees as her gaze locked with Blake’s for the first time since she entered the room.  “Why are you here?”

The faunus’ mouth moved up and down in an attempt to give a response until her voice finally dared to give sound to the words.  “Should-”

Blake had to cough, as her voice cracked and strained with tears misting her eyes.  “Should I not have come back?”

The blonde turned her head away, as if disappointed with the response.  “You shouldn’t have left in the first place.”

The faunus felt tears prick at the edge of her eyes which she clenched shut as she turned her head away.  “I-I didn’t mean… I…”

“Do you have any idea what it was like Blake?”

The girl in question flinched before turning back towards Yang, whose eyes were turning red from something other than her semblance, as tears threatened to streak down her cheeks to give her face the same pained expression her voice had started to carry.

“Blake, you were all I was worried about.”  The tears began to fall now as her voice shook with the pain of the memory.  “As soon as I woke up, all I could ask was where were you, if you were ok, what happened to you…”

Tears began to fall down the faunus’ cheeks, she knew where this was going as she weakly called out to her friend.  “Yang…”

“AND THEY TOLD ME YOU WERE GONE!!!” The blonde shouted as she jumped to her feet with her hair flaring behind her.  “I yelled and cussed and swore at them!  They were lying!  You couldn’t be gone!  I didn’t risk my life for you to be gone!!!”

Blake began to curl into herself on the chair as she hid her face in her knees.  She didn’t mean for it to have been like this.

“They tried to hold me down!  Doctors, nurses, even my dad!  And as I struggled to fight my way out, I noticed that I couldn’t see my right arm!  I started screaming, demanding to know what had happened!  Demanding they answered me when I asked where you were!!!  But they just kept repeating the same shit!  They told me you were gone!  And my arm was gone!  And I swore they were lying!!!  My arm wasn’t, gone, I could still _feel_ it!!!”

Yang’s semblance began to burn as her prosthetic appendage curled into itself and her voice became strained with the tears.  “I could feel it!!!   Still clenched!  Still loaded with Ember Celica ready!  Still prepared to blast that idiot Adam’s jaw clean off!!!  I demanded that they let me go!  That you were still out there!  That I could still save you!!!”

Blake crammed her face deeper into her knees as she cried into her boots, not daring to see the pained expression her friend was wearing.  Yang wasn’t supposed to have been hurt after she left!  This was all wrong!!!

“They ended up sedating me.  But I still shouted your name, hoping you’d answer back.  That you’d know I was still coming to save you.  That I still believed in you…”

Yang paused as she looked at the friend she swore she’d save.  The sight was a bit hazy through all the tears, but she could tell that Blake was curled into herself as much as she could.  A thought crossed her mind to end the story there, but more needed to be said.  Blake needed to _know_.

“The next time I woke up, I asked for you again.”

Blake flinched.  She didn’t deserve it.  Yang should’ve given up on her.

“As soon as I mentioned your name, my dad cut in.  He said that you weren’t there, and when I asked where you were…”

Blake began to shiver from her tears as she could feel Yang’s burning gaze on her.

“He said you  _ran_.”

Blake clutched her knees tighter as she continually muttered under her breath the words she couldn’t find the strength to tell a conscious Yang out loud.

“And I screamed at him!  He was lying!!!”  The blonde began shouting again as her mane flared up at the memory.  “You wouldn’t have run I shouted!  Adam must’ve taken you!  I could still save you!!!”

More tears trickled down the brawler’s cheeks that she quickly wiped away.

“He told me to calm down!  That you were gone! That I needed to let go!!!”

Blake dared to peek at Yang in this moment.  Both her hands were clenched as well as her eyes as she bit her lip in an attempt to keep more tears from coming.  And the faunus couldn’t help but feel sickened with herself for causing her friend so much distress.

“They sedated me again…”  the blonde said as her fingers slightly unclenched and her shoulders drooped slightly.  She turned to her faunus friend and met her gaze.

“The next time I woke up, my dad wasn’t there… I was completely alone in my room.  I tried to get up, but I couldn’t unclench my right fist, the pain there refused to go away and anytime I tried to lean on it I fell because of the lack of support.  I finally got myself sitting upright and stared at the arm that should’ve still been there, and…”

The blonde’s voice cracked as more tears began to well up in her eyes and the faunus dared to lift her head further from its shelter to give the brawler her full attention.  “Yang…”

“And I cried.  I cried, and I cried and I don’t know for how long, but it was the only thing I could do.  It was gone.  _You_ were gone!  But I could still feel the unbelievable pain and the clenched fist and the desire to save you and make sure you were ok and that’s when I realized something.”

Blake let one of her legs drop back to the floor as she let out a soft sniffle while Yang turned her attention to the metallic arm that was to replace the piece of her that was missing.

“I realized that my fist wasn’t clenched because I still wanted to fight.  To get revenge, save you, none of those were the reason it was clenched…”  The metallic hand gripped tightly into a fist, mimicking Yang’s memories of a phantom limb, and shook as Yang continued to try to hold back the tears.  “It was clenched because I was still trying to hold onto everything that night robbed from me.”

“Yang-”

“I COULDN’T SAVE YOU!!!”  The wild blonde screamed as her arms flailed to either side with flames growing dangerously larger.  “Beacon was _gone_!  Ruby was in a coma and left as soon as she woke up!  Pyrrha and Penny died!  And my arm!”

“Ya-”

“But I still held onto that moment!  I still held onto it all in my right hand hoping that I could get it all back!  Believing it wasn’t too late!”

“I’m so-”

“And everybody kept telling me that it was all gone.  That it was too late and I needed to let go, but I couldn’t Blake!  I just couldn’t!!!  I MEAN, HOW DO YOU LET GO WITH AN ARM YOU DON’T HAVE ANYMORE BLAKE!?!?!”

As if the sheer weight of the question was too much for the blonde, she fell to her knees as she cupped her face in her hands with the flames dying down behind her as she let out one last sob.

“How was I supposed to let you go…”

Blake immediately got out of her chair and placed her hand over Yang’s flesh one to try to coax it away from the brawler's face.  “Yang…”

The blonde released her face and threw her arms around the faunus as Blake allowed the blonde to cry into her shoulder.

“I’m sorry Blake.”  The brawler bawled as the emotion wracked her body.  “I didn’t mean to let you down.”

“Yang…”  Blake’s voice shivered with the threat of more tears.  “You didn’t let me do-”

“DON’T LIE TO ME BLAKE!”  Yang shouted as she pushed the faunus away and got back to her feet.  “I know why you left!”

Blake lifted herself up, but was slowed down by her bewilderment.  “Wait, you-”

“I’m not that stupid Blake!”  The blonde shouted, causing the faunus to flinch at the volume.  “I know that Adam was your old partner!”

The faunus took a step back in shock.  “H-How-”

“Pfft, you’ve only mentioned him enough.  Your partner-slash-mentor-slash-someone very dear to you who ‘ _changed’_ …”  Yang paused before turning her gaze to the ground at her side.

“And I know that’s what you think of me now to.”

Cat ears perked to their full height as the faunus immediately registered what the brawler was saying.  “Yang, that’s not-”

“I mean-” Yang began, cutting the faunus off with a bitter laughter.  “You knew this was coming after my battle with Mercury!  I swore he attacked me, but what do I know!  Maybe I just wanted to convince myself that to ignore what was inevitably happening.”

“Yang-”

“And when I saw Adam attack you, I immediately went in for the kill, I wasn’t going to let that psychopathic son-of-a-bitch get away with his life!  Not if I could help it!”

“But Ya-”

“And just this evening, I attacked Sun!!!”

Blake fell silent.  She didn’t realize _that_ had happened.

“I attacked Sun!  And if I didn’t get all delusional for a moment, I don’t know what I would’ve done to him…”

The faunus remained frozen as Yang took a moment to calm herself down.

“So I’m sorry ok?”  A small voice said as the blonde dared to glance back at the faunus with tears building up to overtake Yang’s face.  “I didn’t mean for things to end up like this, but I don’t blame you.  I hope Sun will be a better partner than Adam and I ever could have be-”

“I DON'T WANT A NEW PARTNER YANG!!!”

The blonde turned to give the faunus her full attention as Blake paused with her hands over her mouth, in shock at the volume of the voice she had spent the entire night trying to find.  Eventually, the hands released the black-themed girl’s face as she tried to fight back the tears.  “I wasn’t looking to replace you Yang...  That’s not why I left.”

“T-then why-”

“Because I didn’t want to lose you!!!”

The tears started flowing again.  Seriously, how many tears could one cry in a single night?  Blake tried to start again, she had more to say, but the words kept getting drowned out by her sobs as she tried to wipe her tears.

A metallic hand cupped her cheek as the thumb began to collect the tears for her.  Blake looked up to meet tearful lavender orbs and a comforting smile.  This wasn’t fair!  When Yang was distressed over her fight with Mercury, Blake _made_ her cry, but when Blake starts breaking down because of how she had wronged Yang, the blonde _immediately_ comes to comfort her.

The faunus cried as she gripped Yang to press her face into the brawler’s shoulder.  "WHY DON'T YOU HATE ME?!?!"

The blonde simply wrapped her arms around her friend to stroke the dark tresses that cascaded past Blake’s shoulders.  “That’s a waste of time.”

The faunus pressed harder as a hiccup escaped her lips.  “But I left you!!!  You’ve done nothing b-but trust and believe in me, e-even when I wouldn’t be-believe in you!”

“Yeah,” was all the taller girl responded as she moved her hand to rub circles into her friend’s back.

“You told me about y-your mom, and I still abandoned you!!!”

The blonde simply hummed in agreement as she continued to comfort the faunus, ignoring the wet streaks continuing down her own face.

“Why?"  The pain weakened voice whined.  "Why don’t you hate me?”

“Blake…”

The girl in question lifted her head as the brawler wiped the tears that were falling down her friend’s face.  “We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

Feeling more tears well up, the faunus bit her lip and nodded her head, inspiring the blonde to hug her tighter as she whispered into a cat ear.  “Friends don’t hate each other.”

The faunus began to shake her head.  “But I deserve it Yang!”

“Nah, you probably had your reasons for doing what you did.”

Blake could only clutch into Yang’s tank top.  “He said he’d destroy you Yang…”

“Yeah,” the blonde continued rubbing circles into Blake’s back as she felt her shoulder continually dampen.  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Yang-”

“Blake,” the blonde pulled the faunus out of the hug to look her in the face.  “I know the risks of being a huntress, Ruby and I lost our mom to the profession, remember?  So I know that there’s no guarantee that I’ll always come back.”

The faunus let out a sniffle as she nodded, trying to keep more tears from falling while Yang had her face to face.

“But there’s no point in me coming back if the people that I’m risking my life to protect aren’t there Blake.”

Tears started to prick again at the edges of Yang’s eyes as she watched the way Blake’s ears flickered in bewilderment when she heard something that should be so obvious, but somehow escaped her old bookworm roommate.

“And I can’t be there for you when you leave me.”

Tears began to fall as Blake shook her head.  “What good is it if you die trying to protect me!”  the faunus tried to wipe her eyes as the tears continued to fall.  “Even if I left you, at least your still alive and out there somewhere.  I don’t want you to die.”

Yang couldn’t suppress the small smile that cracked her face as a few tears trickled down her face.  “Then how about this…” the blonde began taking the faunus’ hands to wipe the tears for her.  “I’ll protect you and make sure you come back alive if you do the same for me.”

A small laugh pierced through the tears as Blake shook her head.  “That’s too simple to be realistic.”

“Hey, you don’t know that.  Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one.”

A weak giggle came from the faunus as she refrained from rolling her eyes.  “Gee Yang, I’m impressed.  Have you been studying Occam’s Razor.”

A light laugh matched Yang's bittersweet smile as she looked down on the fuanus.  “Come on Blake, since when do I study anything.  I just always go with the simplest answer since anything too complicated would take up too much brain space.”

Amber orbs rolled as tears continued to prick at the edges of them.  There was that one more thing that still needed to be said.

“Yang,” the small voice cracked, as the blonde tilted her head to show she was listening.  “I-I’m sorry.”

Tears began to stream as the faunus returned to Yang’s reassuring shoulder.  She had to say this to Yang.  “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey Blake,” the blonde softly cooed causing Blake tilted her head slightly towards the sound.  Yang leaned down to place a soft kiss between feline ears before whispering into one of them.  “I forgive you.”

Blake continued to shiver in Yang’s arms as she bawled.  This wasn’t fair.  How could Yang be so unconditionally accepting?  Even when Blake couldn’t accept herself, Yang was unconditionally there.

And it pained Blake so much to fully understand just to what extent her partner continued to believe in her.

“By the way, Blake?  I’m sorry I was such an asshole earlier.”  The soft voice stated while rubbing circles into the faunus’ back.  “I was scared.  I thought you didn’t want to be my partner anymore.”

“I don’t want anyone else as a partner Yang.”  The faunus mumbled just loud enough for the blonde to hear before a yawn escaped her lips.  “You’re the only partner I could ever want.”

The brawler couldn’t suppress a smirk as she began to stroke the black-themed girl’s hair.  “Sounds like someone’s getting tired.”

The faunus broke away from the blonde’s embrace to wipe her tears nodding when the brawler suddenly grew concerned.  “Do you… have a place to stay?  I mean… you could always… stay… here…”

Blake paused for a moment.  Even if she had felt the _slightest_ temptation to leave she wasn’t sure that sneaking onto Haven’s campus to try to find Sun’s dorm would have been the brightest idea at this hour.  Still, doubt had a way of gnawing at Blake.  “Yo-you would really let me stay?  After everything I’ve done?”

“O-of course!”  the blonde stammered, taken aback by the question.  “I mean, we’re partners.”

A small smile cracked Blake’s face, “Of course… thank you.”

“Y-yeah, anytime… um…”

Blake paused.  She had moved away from Yang to get to the bed that the blonde hadn’t been sitting on during the night before guessing that might have been an issue.  “I’m sorry, is this someone else’s bed?  I can try to get my own room if necessary.”

“No!”  Yang panicked before flinching at her own embarrassment.  “No- I mean, that bed’s not taken, but… could you… maybe…”

The faunus tilted her head in confusion before it dawned on her what Yang was trying to ask.  She stepped towards the bumbling brawler, grabbed one of her hands and led her towards the bed.  They lifted the blankets and crawled underneath with Yang immediately wrapping her arms around the lithe form of her partner who rested her head beneath the blonde’s chin.

“Th-thank you…”  The blonde stammered, ashamed by the extent of her neediness in this situation.

She was grateful that the faunus didn’t seem to mind.  “It’s the least I could do…”

“Hey, Blake?” the blonde’s voice came, small and tentative.

“Yeah.”

“P-Please tell me you’ll still be here in the morning…”

Blake could feel tears pooling within her hair as Yang’s voice broke with the request as tears began to well up again within the faunus’ eyes.

“I guarantee it Yang.  There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“Good…” the word came out as a sigh as if the words Blake said had released a huge weight on Yang’s shoulders.  “Thanks…”

The faunus simply hummed in acknowledgment, far too ready to succumb to slumber, but before she drifted off she heard something that took her by surprise.

_Don’t you worry about the dark_

_I will light up the night with the love in my heart_

_I will burn like the sun I will keep you safe and warm_

The lulling sound was so soothing, with the warmth of Yang’s body heat and the security in having her back in her life so fully, Blake could have blissfully remained in this moment forever.

_Like the smell of a rose on a summer’s day_

_I will be there to take all your fears away_

The blonde paused for a moment as she gazed down at her partner.  _Her_ partner.  The partner she would die for in a heartbeat if the circumstances demanded it.  The partner who looked so peaceful in her arms, despite all the trauma after the Fall of Beacon.  And Yang would do anything in her power to ensure Blake could keep that peace.

In a final moment before sleep could carry her away, Yang ran her metallic thumb across Blake’s tear-stained cheek.

_With a touch of my hand I will turn your life to gold_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, I wanted to make sure I got to this point before Volume 5 began because of all the things I'll write in this fic, this is the only part that's likely to happen within the next volume. Or, maybe I'll just be pissed cause I was waiting for this moment all of last volume... Oh well. Anyways, thanks so much for the comments, kudos, hits and even the bookmark. I truly appreciate any and all feedback and I apologize that I take forever to update these chapters and truly appreciate that many of you come back to read the next chapter. I do have other fics that I have plans for, but I promise that I'll keep this one going till the end. Anyways, thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


	5. To Save What's Changed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! I just wanted to say, I'm so sorry for the long update and I appreciate everyone's continued support with this story. On the bright side, this chapter is longer! (As a matter of fact I probably should have split this into two chapter, but oh well). Anyways, read and enjoy!

It was so dark.

It was so calm.

It was so _peaceful_.

But she knew this peace could only last for so long.  Soon she would open her mind's eye and live through another nightmare of how her world has fallen apart, or attend to the real world that was nothing more than a waking nightmare.

She shifted in her spot, noticing that something hard was agitating her left side and the rest of her body was completely stiff.  It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but she was too determined to fall back into her dreamless slumber to care.  She pulled the covers closer to her as she snuggled as closely to the warmth next to her as was physically possible.  The warmth was so familiar.

So secure.

She let out a soft sigh, certain that a sound slumber would soon follow only for her to notice that the object under her left side started to wrap itself around her back where a softer version of the object met its twin, pulling the woman closer to the source.

Amber eyes flew open as the faunus fully took in the sounds of her warmth’s sobs and the smell of the tears that were staining the hair between her cat ears.

“Y-Yang?”

“You’re back…”  The voice rushed to inform before more sobs filled the room.  “You’re really back…”

Slender arms wormed their way around the taller woman’s form as the faunus wrapped her friend in her own embrace.  “Yeah Yang… I’m back.”

“And you’re not gunna disappear?”  The desperate voice asked as Blake was pulled tighter by the blonde’s embrace.  “This isn’t a dream, or an illusion or…”

The faunus pushed herself out of the embrace so that she could look Yang in the eyes, her hand resting on the blonde’s cheek to wipe away stray tears.  “I’m real… I’m here… I-” her breath hitched as soft tears of her own rolled down her cheeks.  “I’m so sorry Yang…”

The brawler placed her hand over the hand on her cheek, while her metallic hand cupped the face of the woman in front of her, trying to verify that every piece of her friend was indeed real.  “So last night was real too?”

“Yeah…” the soft voice answered as the faunus nodded her head.  “That was real too…”

Yang closed the gap between them to bring the faunus into another bone crushing hug.  “I missed you Blake.  I’m so glad your back.”

Blake began to tear up as she pulled the blonde towards her and buried her face in the broad shoulder.  “I missed you too Yang, I thought you’d hate me.  I’m sorry...”  The faunus nuzzled further into the blonde as her tears stained the brawler’s shirt.  “I’m so sorry…”

“I know Blake.  I don’t care about that anymore.”  The blonde pulled away to look the faunus in the eyes.  “I just care that you’re back.  God, I’m so glad your back.”

“I swore you’d hate me.”  The soft whisper came as the faunus turned her gaze away.

A calloused hand caressed her cheek to regain eye contact.  “I could never hate you Blake.  Yeah, I was hurt, and I was mad, and I was confused and scared and so many other things…” the blonde paused as she loosed an exasperated sigh.  “But I couldn’t hate you…”  Tears sprang fresh as she wiped away the tears staining the faunus’ cheek.  “I just wanted you to come back and make all those other things go away.”

Soft hands grabbed the calloused one on her cheek as she pushed herself up from the bed so that her other hand could graze across the yellow metal below.  “It was all my fault.”

A slight shiver was felt through the mechanical appendage before it gripped the slender wrist near it.  “That wasn’t your fault!  All I cared about was making sure you were okay and you left me!”

A pause settled over the two as Blake noted the bright red threatening to bleed through lavender as an expression that the faunus had only once seen painted on the bralwer's features.

The fear was simply too plain.

Amber orbs flicked to the metal appendage, with lavender following quickly only to widen in shock.  The metallic appendage quickly released the wrist to return Blake’s wrist it’s circulation as the blonde turned away from her friend.

“Sorry…” The word tumbled out in a mumble that only the faunus’ cat ears could pick up.  Concern riddled her face as she noted how the metallic appendage seemed to continue to shake as a tan hand seemed to desperately try to still the movement.

“Yang?”

“Don’t- just- I mean…”

A pale hand landed on a broad shoulder.  “Yang, what do you need me to do to make this all go away?”

“Huh?”  Tear-stricken lavender peeked beyond the shoulder to find a desperate amber.  “Wha- what do you mean?”

The amber gaze dropped as the faunus began her thoughts.  “Yang, I don’t know how to be there for people because I always thought that the best way for me to protect anyone was to simply not be there.  I always believed that my absence would be far less painful than the demons that would plague the people I wanted to protect.”  The hand slid off the shoulder as the brawler turned towards the faunus.  “But, I swear I’ll do whatever I can to help you!  I won’t run away again, I’ll stay right here and fix everything I’ve ruined!  I…”  A pause broke the thought as fresh tears welled into amber orbs and the faunus turned away.  “I owe you at least that much.”

“Blake…”

The shaky name was answered with a bleary amber gaze meeting lavender before two strong arms encased the faunus as the blonde cried into the lithe figure’s shoulder.

“Thank you… Blake… that’s all… I needed that… thank you…”

Tentative arms wrapped around broad shoulders as the faunus held the brawler.  “Yang, I’m not as strong as you are.  I don’t know how to fight without running, but I’ll try.  I’ll try to be as strong as you are.”

A bitter laugh broke from the blonde that caused the embrace to falter as the brawler turned back around.  “I’m not strong Blake.  I can’t even go two steps without feeling the heat of my semblance because I feel so damn helpless.”  The blonde shook her head at the thought before turning back to her friend.  “I’m not strong Blake.  I’m scared.”

A graceful hand moved towards the metallic fingers.  “Even so…”  The faunus began as she offered the brawler a small smile.  “You’re here, still fighting.”

The blonde’s gaze fell to their hands as she seemed to contemplate the image before her.  A small smile crept across her face as she gave as soft a squeeze as she could with her cold metal fingers.  “Yeah, so are you.”

A pause settled between them as Blake took a moment to process what was just said, then her gaze fell to their two hands intertwined as a small smirk crossed her face.  “Yeah, I guess I am.”

A comfortable silence settled between the two, but Blake couldn’t help noticing that Yang kept chewing on her lip and periodically squeezing her hand.  “Yang, what’s wrong?”

Lavender orbs shifted to amber before darting away as the blonde turned to face away from the faunus, taking her hand with her.  “You’re wrong… I’m not strong…”

“Yang…”  The soft voice spoke as the cat faunus crawled over the bed to sit next to the brawler.  “Yang, how could you say that?  I mean I…”  A soft cough interrupted her thoughts as she fought to complete her explanation.  “I can’t imagine you not being strong enough for anything, I mean, you-you’re the epitome of strength.  H-How can you even think that you’re not strong?”

Lavender eyes turned towards amber before turning away abruptly.  “Because I’m not really fighting.”

Feline ears perked at the words as amber eyes turned towards the blonde with concern.  “What do you mea-”

“I mean I can’t fight anymore Blake!”

There was a wave of heat with small sparks flaring from blonde hair as Blake watched the red bleed back into lavender eyes.

The faunus always found it strange that although Yang’s semblance was related to the amount of pain she took that her expressions almost never portrayed a pained face when her semblance activated.

Sometimes, the expression was confidence

Sometimes, the expression was anger.

And one time that expression was fear.

Just like the way she looked now.

The tears welling in those blood red eyes were undeniable as the blonde clutched tightly to the faunus’ shoulders to lock the bloodstained color with amber.

“Yang-”

“I’m so scared Blake… I just… I’m so scared.”

The cat faunus placed a hand over Yang’s flesh one and the other hand on Yang’s cheek.  “Yang-”

“Blake…”  The hands loosened slightly on the ninja’s shoulders though they remained roughly in place.  “Blake you know that mission last night?”

The faunus simply nodded as she wiped the tears rolling down the brawler’s face before the face turned away.  “Blake, the truth is, that’s the first time I left this hotel since I got here.”

“Wha-”

“I mean I haven’t left this hotel!”  The firecracker nearly exploded as she clutched the small shoulders tighter.  “When the others went to check out Haven, I stayed here.  When they went to check out Mistral for any kind of activity, I stayed here.  Hell, I haven’t even left my room in most of that time!”

The hands moved down to clutch at the white coat beneath them as Yang began to bury her face in the crook of Blake’s neck.  The faunus struggled to fight the shock that was overtaking her as she carefully wrapped her arms around the brawler’s back.  Blake had never been the comforting one before, but she was willing to try.

“But… last night…”

“Last night was stupid!  I was telling Ruby that Emerald wasn’t trustworthy and that if she wanted results she should send me to take care of the White Fang.  So, what does Ruby in her infinite wisdom decide to do?  She sticks me on a team  _with_ her!  I mean what if she was conspiring with the White Fang to ambush Ruby and I didn’t… I couldn’t…”

The words stopped as soft sobs wracked her body with Blake easing into the embrace as she rubbed the strong back of the brawler.

“I just can’t lose her again…”

The faunus’ gaze dropped as her hands froze in place.  "I'm sorry Yang... You were right, I shouldn't have left."

The blonde shrugged as she lifted herself out of the embrace to face the other way.  "You're fine Blake.  We've discussed it and... You're good."

The ninja breathed a sigh of relief that only felt half satisfying.  Even if Yang was good with her, she had to help Yang fully recover from what happened.  And if Ruby's absence had an affect on the blonde then, “have you talked to Ruby at all about-”

“Are you crazy!”  The blonde bounced to her feat to turn on the faunus, hair lighting slightly as her hands visibly shook with the idea.  “How could I possibly talk to her about that!”

“Yang…”

Shimmering crimson widened as they tried to slowly fade back to lavender at the soft voice’s response.  “Sorry…”  The word was barely muttered as she turned away to look at the wall behind her.

The lithe form on the bed leaned forward as she reached for the metallic hand in front of her before deciding against it.  “Yang… your semblance…”

“I know Blake!  I’m out of control and… I’m sorry…”

“But… Why-”

“Cuz I can’t let her know how scared I am!”

Blake stood up to turn the brawler towards her by the shoulders to lock amber onto lavender.  “What do you mean.”

The blonde head tilted downward as her flesh hand reached for the metallic yellow elbow.  “I thought it would be easy coming back.  I mean, Dad told me I wasn’t ready yet, but I couldn’t just stand by anymore.  I had to find Ruby.  To let her know that I could still protect her.  To tell her that I still…”

The voice trailed off as Blake let one of her hands fall back to her side with the other giving the broad shoulder a gentle squeeze.  The brawler let out a sigh before continuing.  “Blake, when Ruby woke up after Beacon, she asked me what we were gunna do and I told her she could just do whatever she wanted.  I could tell she wanted to fix things, but what could I do?  I was a dismembered basket case who couldn’t even leave my bed.”

Tears began to well in lavender eyes as she lifted her gaze to the ceiling.  “Then later, she told me she was going to Mistral, that she’d walk the whole damn way and that she wanted me to come with her.  And all I could do was tell her that it was reckless, that she was stupid that she should just stay home… but I couldn’t tell her I needed her to stay.  _I just needed her to stay!_ ”

The blonde’s head thumped against the wall before her body slid slowly down until she cradled her knees in her arms.  “I thought I could still be strong enough to protect her, but I couldn’t even protect you when I had activated my semblance, and all of a sudden I’m feeling helpless and am drawing on my semblance because what if what I have isn’t enough?  What if I fail again?”

Slender arms began to wrap tighter around slender knees as lavender eyes were buried within the self-made cage.  “I’m a failure of a big sister.  How can I be there to protect her when I can’t even help myself?”

The faunus knelt down before the blonde as she placed a hand back on the brawler’s shoulder.  “Because she’s had the luxury of having someone as wonderful as you to rely on.  Just like I did.”  The smaller woman paused for a second before finishing her thought.  “Just like how I was so blessed to be able to rely on you.  To have you there every time I needed someone.  It was more than I ever deserved.”

Tears pricked at her eyes as she gave the hand on Yang’s shoulder a firm squeeze.  “And I swear, I _will_ find some way to make it up to you.  Even if it takes my whole life, I’ll make it up to you…”

Lavender eyes peaked out from her flesh barrier as they widened at the sight of tears freely trickling from amber eyes.  “I promise…”

“Blake…”  The brawler eased out of her small position to fully look at the faunus.  “I could never ask that of you…”

Pale hands wrapped around the metallic appendage as their fingers interlocked.  “Yang, I would never ask this of you, but you gave it to me anyway.  You gave me more support than I could have ever asked for, even when I didn’t want it, you always were there to help me, even when I was my own problem.  I want to be able to help you the way that you helped me.”

Both eyes had drifted towards the caressed metal until the pause caused them to seek out each other’s gaze.  “And I’m certain that Ruby wants to be there for you to.  You just have to open up to her.”

Metallic fingers squeezed tighter as the blonde turned away.  “I can’t, I’m supposed to be the big sister.  I can’t just toss my problems onto her.”

“You may be Ruby’s big sister, but Ruby is also our team leader.  And even if she is the younger sister, you should still talk to her about this.  Maybe she’s suffering from Beacon too and needs you as well, but because you’re avoiding the conversation she may be trying to deal with it alone.  She needs you Yang.”

Lavender met amber for a fleeting moment before darting quickly away.  “She doesn’t need me.  She’s got Team RNJR now, or whatever…”

“Yang.”  The faunus extracted her hand from the metal appendage to reach for Yang’s cheek to turn her face towards her, fiery determination glinting in amber eyes.  “Ruby will always need you.  She wouldn’t have asked you to travel with her to Mistral if she didn’t.”

Yang opened her mouth to protest but found the words failed to come out.  If Ruby needed her, then she wouldn’t have left her, but, she always wrote.  Anytime she reached a village she wrote to Yang, told her where she was, that she was safe, that she missed her.

That she loved her.

“I still haven’t told her…”

The words trailed off as Blake looked on with curiosity before a small smile graced her lips.  “It’s never too late Yang.”

Lavender eyes turned towards the faunus before looking back down between her legs.  “Maybe…”

“Yang, if I didn’t get to tell you how sorry I was for Beacon I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life.  Talk to Ruby.  It won’t solve everything, but I know it’ll provide a little more peace for you.”

“Yeah… I guess.”  Her gaze remained focused on her clenching and unclenching hands that she kept in her lap.  At least they weren’t shaking right now.

The faunus got up and offered the brawler a hand.  “Come on, I’m sure there’s a comfier seat here than the floor.”

A humorless chuckle left the blonde as she took the offered appendage.  “Yeah, thanks Blake.  You’re so easy to talk to.”

Feline ears perked as the faunus helped pull the brawler to her full height.  “What makes you say that?”

A shrug followed in response though Blake was certain that she could see a devious glint in the lavender eyes before her.  “Don’t know, maybe since you have two more ears than most people I know I start to think you’re twice as likely to listen to me.”

The faunus rolled her eyes at the statement as she crossed her arms.  “I’ll just take that statement as you informing me of your improving mathematical prowess.”

The blonde put her hands on her hips in mock defense.  “Hey, come on, my grades weren’t _that_ bad.”

Her protest sparked soft giggles from the faunus which the blonde found incredibly contagious as the sound of both of their laughter began to fill the room.  It felt so surreal to Yang.  There had been so little joy since the fall of Beacon that laughter was rare enough to hear, but to be hearing _Blake’s_ laughter.

She was almost certain she’d never hear that again.

She paused as she took in the faunus’ form, watching as the ninja began to quiet down and blush slightly at the attention the blonde was giving her.

“Blake-”

Knock Knock Knock

Both heads turned towards the door as a familiarly high-pitched voice called from the other side.

“Yang!  You in there!  It’s me, Ruby!”

The caped figure continued to pound on the door as she tried calling into the door beyond.

“Yang!  You’re awake now, right?”

Crimson eyes rolled beside her as Emerald leaned casually to the side of the door.  “Ruby, it’s not recommended that you intentionally wake someone up when you want to talk to them…  Unless you’ve got copious amounts of coffee as well as a heartfelt apology.”

Silver turned their weary eyes to the dark woman as she tried to determine if the statement was more playful or irritated given the early hour they were up at.   At least, the hour was early relative to what they had grown accustomed to.

“Emerald, you said you wouldn’t report your findings without Yang and the longer we wait the longer we stall in our next step in operations and-”

“I know!  I know…”  The mintette half growled, half sighed as she groaned into the palms of her hands.  “But still, were not gunna get anything done this early in the morning given the fact that we’re the only two of our team even awake right now.”

The crimsonette hummed in thought as her eyes narrowed at the ex-thief that caused the illusionist to grow largely concerned.  “What are you doing?”

A mischievous smirk crossed the pale girl’s lips as she pulled out a small silver whistle which caused crimson eyes to grow wide.  “You wouldn’t!”

The smirk broke into a grin before she took a deep inhale as the mintette readied her hands to barricade the shrieking sound from her eardrums as the high-pitched squeal broke through the otherwise silent hallway.

“Excuse me, but, do you mind?  Some of us are trying to sleep here.”

The crimsonette turned to blush profusely at the raven-haired girl that had come out of the room that she _swore_ was her sister’s.  “Oh!  Right!  Of course, I’m so sorry…”

The door quickly closed as the reaper’s ramblings slowed before she turned to her companion.  “Emerald, what gives?  Why didn’t you tell me we were at the wrong door?”

Crimson eyes stared at the young red-head before the mintette’s palm blocked her line of sight that was paired with an exasperated sigh, while Ruby watched intently.  She had to be missing something if that was Emerald’s reaction.  Staying perfectly still so as not to disrupt the gears turning in her head before suddenly realization dawned on her.  She threw open the door and burst into the room with a flurry of rose petals.

“IT’S BLAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!”

The said faunus turned around only to find herself being barreled over by the hyper-active scythe-wielder as a small yell signaled her falling to the floor.

“Pancakes?!”

The fallen ninja noticed the orange head that popped into the door frame as the expression on the girl’s face morphed from hopeful to ecstatic before following the cloaked leader’s example.

“IT’S BLAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!”

Another grunt came from the ninja as the pink electric blur joined the dog pile and started to crush both her and her leader in a bone-crushing hug.

“Nora… Please… Stop…”

The viking looked down at the two girl’s whose faces were turning red due to the lack of oxygen before jumping up to bounce on her feet.  “Whoops!  Sorry!  I just thought I’d heard pancakes, but then you were here!  And I got so excited, though now I’m getting side tracked, but regardless-”

“Is it time to head to the cafeteria for breakfast yet Nora?”

All heads turned to the weary face of Ren as he peered through the doorway, seemingly oblivious to the excitement occurring in the room.

“Oh, right!  Can’t miss the most important meal of the day!  Anyway, it’s really good to have you back Blake!  I hope you’ll stick around. The breakfast here is continental!”

The viking bounced once more before dashing for the door to head to the downstairs cafeteria, completely bypassing the sighing ninja who was waiting by the door frame.

The young man sighed and moved to follow the hyper-active hammer wielder, but stopped to turn and give a short bow.  “I apologize for the inconvenience, however I must admit a shared enthusiasm with my friend.”  He straightened again and gave a soft smile.  “It’s very good to see you well Blake.  I’m glad you found us here.”

With that he was gone as the faunus was left completely bewildered by the entire situation as she remained locked in Ruby’s octopus hold with a vague awareness of Yang’s snickering on the bed as she realized the reason behind the blonde recommending she pretend to be a random hotel guest that the young leader had so rudely awakened.  She didn’t mind though.  It reminded her of where she was.  Of who she was with.

As if nothing had possibly changed.

“BLAKE!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE BACK!!! I’VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!!!”

Amber eyes flicked down to the hysterical red-head, glancing back at the soft smile that graced the brawler on the bed only to return her gaze back to her team leader and gently wrapping her arms around the younger woman.  “I’m back Ruby…  I’m sorry, I missed you too.”

The crimsonette bounced up as she quickly wiped the tears that marred her incredibly enthusiastic expression.  “What’s there to be sorry about!  You’re back and that’s all that matters, right?”

The faunus stole another glance at the blonde who had turned her gaze to her metallic arm that seemed to be quivering within her flesh grasp while her gaze quickly turned away.  “If you say so…”

Silver eyes widened turning to find the blonde but turning away before they could meet lavender, body going rigid with the reminder of what separated them in the first place.  Fists clenched for only a moment before she put on her most comforting smile with tears continuing to fall down her cheeks.  “Of course that’s all that matters…”

Amber eyes remained averted as feline ears pressed against raven locks.  She was only vaguely aware of Emerald walking into the room and laying a hand on Ruby’s shoulder.  “Hey, do you still want to discuss last night?  I can bring breakfast up here for-”

“Don’t bother…”

All heads turned towards the blonde who continued to gaze at her now lifeless right arm.  Blake slowly rose from her place on the floor as she took a step towards the brawler.  “You okay?”

A curt nod was the response she got before the blonde lifted her head to meet a crimson gaze.  “Say Em?  You okay showing Blake where the cafeteria is?  I want to talk to my sister for a moment… I mean…”  The lavender gaze panned the room to try to take in all the faces present.  “If that’s okay with everyone…”

Concern riddled the faunus’ face as she wanted to say anything in protest.  “Yang?”

“Of course I’ll give our new friend here the grand tour!”  The illusionist spoke a little too quickly that the ninja couldn’t help but feel was slightly suspicious.  “Want me to bring you two up something?”

Ruby averted her gaze as she hugged her elbows, not daring to look toward her older sister.  A posture that lavender eyes seemed to dissect in every way possible before shaking her head as if suddenly aware that the ex-thief had said something.  “Oh, uh… no actually.  We’ll… we’ll be down shortly.”

That caught everyone’s attention as the shock clearly written on Ruby’s face was evidence to though the other two quickly washed the surprise away with warm smiles.  “Well Blake, you heard the plan.  Time to show you around our humble abode.”

The mintette stepped towards the faunus as her arm stretched towards the exit to lead their latest arrival towards the door.  Amber eyes gazed back at lavender that were paired with a smile which the faunus could tell was nothing more than a brave face, but she knew that this was something Yang desperately needed.  “Alright.  Thank you for your assistance.”

Crimson eyes rolled at the formality as she began to trail the faunus.  “Oh, don’t thank me yet.  The main reason our first stop is the cafeteria is damage control.  Luckily, Nora didn’t get too much of a head start on us.”

The sounds of their conversation faded as both sisters let their gazes linger on the doorway before lavender took in the crimsonette.  “Maybe you were right…”

Ruby turned quickly to find her sister as her question came out more as a breath than as an actual statement.  “What?”

“Em’s not that bad… I’m glad you’ve got her to rely on.”

Silver eyes shimmered with threatening tears as she took in her older sister’s despondent form.  “Yang…”

The brawler’s shoulders visibly tensed at the sound before a deep exhale disrupted the tension.  “Yeah?”

“Do you hate me?”

Silence fell over the room as lavender eyes turned towards the scythe-wielder before turning away as her voice took a soft tone.  “I could never hate you.”

Silver eyes dropped, barely daring to peek at the woman she had looked up to all her life.  “I miss talking to you…”

Metallic fingers squirmed as the flesh hand grabbed the yellow wrist to will the fingers to still.  “Ruby?”

The crimson head snapped up to see the older sister.  “Yeah?”

“Why do you care?”

“Wuh- What do you mean?!”  The cloaked girl stammered as she leaned forward.  “You’re my sister!  How could I not care-”

“How could you leave me if you cared?”

Shimmering lavender turned towards the girl who felt so much younger and smaller than she actually was under that gaze.  She turned her head away as she willed the feelings of incompetence away.  “I-”

“I needed you Ruby.”

Soft tears ran down the brawler’s face as the younger sibling looked on, mesmerized by the sight of her invincible sister so vulnerable.   The blonde broke the scene by rising and wiping away her tears.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t burden you with my problems just cause I can’t help myself.  I’m proud that you made it to Mistral.  I can see that you don’t really need me anymore anyways.  You’ve grown up and moved on.  And I couldn’t help you.”

She started to head towards the door before stopping, but not turning around to face her sister.  “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you Ruby.  But you’ve got others who can help.  And I can accept that you don’t need me anymore-”

“But that’s not true Yang!”

“Yes it is!”

“NO!!!”

Rose petals fell around them as Ruby wrapped her arms and legs around her sister to lock her in place.  “You’re wrong Yang!  I do need you!  I can’t do this Yang!  I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”

Shock froze the brawler in place as her arms tentatively placed themselves around the smaller form.  “You’ll figure it out Ruby.  If anyone’s gunna save the day it’s gunna be you.”

“But that’s a lie isn’t it?!”

Lavender eyes widened as the blonde tried to console her little sister.  “Of course it’s not a lie Ruby.  I mean, even after everything, you’re still working so hard to save everyone.”

“But I didn’t save everyone!  I’ve already failed!”

“Ruby, hey-”

“PENNY DIED!!!”

The brawler’s mouth opened to say something, anything, but words refused to form as she simply closed her mouth to hug her little sister tight.  “Ruby…”

“She died Yang!  I saw Mercury, the fight was announced, and he knew what Penny was and Pyrrha’s semblance!  And I tried to call!  I tried to run, but by the time I got there… and then Pyrrha…”

“Ruby…”

“If I were so special, I could’ve saved them.  I could’ve helped you!  But I couldn’t!  I _can’t_!  How am I supposed to save everyone?!”

“You’ll find a way Ruby.”  The soft voice of the brawler floated above the red-head.  “I know you will.”

“But what if I don’t find a way Yang.”  Shimmering silver eyes pulled away to find teary lavender.  “I only know how to kill monsters.  That’s not the same as being able to save people.  Being able to help them when they need it.”

The older sister paused for a minute before running metallic fingers through crimson hair.  “That’s why you left, isn’t it?”

Silver eyes began to drown in tears as the team leader tugged on her sister’s shirt to hide the shame in the crook of her neck.  “Seeing you like that.  So shut down and despondent.  You looked like you could disappear.  Like the wind would simply blow you away like it did Pyrrha’s ashes.  I couldn’t watch that happen again!”

The golden hand gripped in crimson hair as the blonde pulled her younger sister closer to her.

“But I couldn’t help you!  I’m so sorry I left, but I was too scared to watch you fade away.  Please don’t go away!”

“I’m not going anywhere Ruby.”

The crimsonette tried to stifle her sobs as she relished in the warmth that was strictly her sister’s.  “Yang?”

“Ruby, I’m sorry.  I wanted to believe that I could protect you from anything that could possibly exist in the world.  I didn’t mean to fail you so badly.”

“You didn’t fail Yang.”  The cloaked form eased out of the embrace with her gaze averted as she started to turn away.  “You did what I couldn’t have been bothered to do, you kept the team safe.  You fought at Beacon, you made sure Weiss was ok, and then Blake…”

Silver eyes found themselves back in the lavender limelight as a wavering smile tried to cross the tearstained face.  “I didn’t even think to call you and the others to make sure you were all okay.  I got so caught up in the moment, the adrenaline, the heroism of it all.”  The tears fell freely as silver dropped to the ground.  “I didn’t think anything could happen to us.  That we’d make it like in all the other fairy tales… but I was wrong.”

A brief pause settled over the two as lavender watched the silently sobbing younger sister.  Inaudible footsteps crossed the room before a metallic hand ruffled crimson hair as a soft, almost nervous giggle echoed in the room.  “Huh?”

The soft smile on the blonde was probably the most genuine one the blonde had felt since Beacon.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t help but think that maybe I was too good a big sister if you continued to believe those stories even after the invasion started.”

Shimmering silver dared to peek at the soft lavender gaze.  “Yang?”

“You know I called Blake as soon as the attack began.  The first thing I asked is if you were with them.  Of course, she told me you weren’t and that you were our leader.  That you could take care of yourself.”  A humorless chuckle escaped from the blonde as she let her gaze wander.  “I didn’t want to admit it then, but I guess she was right.  You can take care of yourself.”  A soft smile graced the blonde’s face as she let her gaze return to her sister.  “You don’t need me to be constantly looking out for you.”

Silver eyes remained fixed on the floor until they dared to meet lavender.  “What if I want you to keep looking out for me?”

The blonde shook her head as a soft chuckle escaped her.  “You never grow up do you?”

“Hey!”  The team leader whined as she pouted her cheeks.  “Of course, I’m growing up!  I still drink milk in case you had forgotten.”

A full laugh broke from the blonde as she looked back to the young crimsonette.  “Well, at the very least, I’m glad you don’t believe you’ve outgrown the need for your big sister around.”

A full grin broke out on the younger sibling's face.  “Of course I haven’t outgrown needing my big sister Yang!  Who else is going to jump into the mouth of a Nevermore to punch bullets down it’s throat after it turns on me for using it as a convenient form of transportation?”

Lavender eyes rolled as a mirthful giggled rang through the room.  “Yeah, between your innovativeness and my recklessness it’s a wonder we’ve stayed alive.”

“It’s because we’ve stayed together.”

The giggling stopped as the blonde stared at the lifeless fingers flexing at the end of her arm.

She really did need this.

_Not just for you, but for the people you care about._

“Yeah, you’re right Rubes… thank you.”

Silver eyes widened as a confused expression crossed the crimsonette’s face before she managed to stammer out a response.  “Oh, ah, yeah!  Of course, anytime!”

“Oh, and Ruby?”

The crimsonette paused in her stammering to give her sister her full attention.  “Yeah Yang?”

With that the blonde enveloped the younger sibling into a warm embrace.  “I love you too.”

Soft tears spilled past silver eyes as the younger sibling returned the embrace.  “I know Yang.  I know you’ll always be there for me, even in the times when I don’t deserve it.  I never doubted that for a second.”

Yellow fingers ruffled crimson hair as the embrace began to come loose.  “Well then do me this favor Rubes, stop doubting yourself.”

Silver eyes looked up at the soft, comforting smile that she had known all her life.  “I didn’t just come here because I wanted to keep you out of trouble, but also because I believed that you were right.  That you really could fix things and save everyone.  And it’d be a shame if I didn’t get wrapped up in that crazy adventure now wouldn’t it?”

Pale hands wiped at the fresh tears as the younger girl gave the brightest smile she could find within her.  “Of course!”

“Good.”  The word came with a curt nod from the blonde before she walked a few paces towards the door and turn back.  “Now, we’d better get to breakfast.  Hopefully, Blake and Em managed to keep anything too exciting from happening without us.”

A soft giggle escaped the crimsonette as she hummed in approval and raced to catch up to the older sibling.  It had been too long since she’d been able to have breakfast with her sister.

She wasn’t going to let anything get in their way.

* * *

 

The duo of latest recruits walked down the stairs as they both strained to hear the voices far behind them over their footsteps.

“Are you sure they’ll be ok?”

The mintette hummed in thought which caused a slight tinge of irritation to pass through the faunus.  “Maybe, but it’s not like they can get any worse than they have been.”

A snarl overtook Blake’s face as she turned to face the ex-villainess.  “Do you think this is a joke?!”

“If it is it’s a really bad one.”  The mintette shrugged as they turned around the banister to go down another flight of stairs.  “Anytime they talked before Yang would just snap at Ruby and Ruby would give her distance and it just created this whole dance of avoiding the issue.  And you know an issue's bad when Yang’s not willing to tackle a problem head-on.”

The faunus’ features softened as she let her gaze drop to the floor.  “Was this really the best time though?  I mean…”

The mintette stopped at the bottom step to turn and look up at the ninja.  “You may not know it, but Yang’s been making large improvements ever since last night.  I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I think she feels a little braver just having you around.”

Amber eyes narrowed.  “What do you mean ‘what's going on between us?’”

A smug smirk took over Emerald’s face.  “Did you really think that I didn’t notice the other bed wasn’t used?”

A blush took over the faunus as she attempted to put on an accusatory face.  “And did you think I didn’t notice that you were in Ruby’s room late last night?  Or that the both of you showed up at Yang’s room at the exact same time?”  Uncertainty flashed across Blake’s face when she turned back to her suspect.  “You- You knew I was following you last night, didn’t you?”

An unimpressive shrug of the shoulders was given in response.  “Things seemed to work out alright.”

“But…”

A green eyebrow quirked at the quivering faunus who was gnawing her lips gently.  A sigh escaped the mintette before she leaned against the wall.  “You know, this hasn’t been easy for Ruby either.”

Surprise took over the ninja’s face as she turned to look towards the leaning figure at the bottom of the stairs.  “Sure, Ruby’s got her friends amongst JNPR, and I’m helping out where I can, but she can barely see herself as a huntress without her team.  She’d never admit it, but I could tell that losing her team took its toll.  She sees herself as a failure of a leader.  Failed as a huntress.  Failed to be the person she had dreamed of being for so long.  She was so excited to hear that we’d run into you last night, though I could tell she was weary.”

“She was scared I wouldn’t actually come back, wasn’t she?”

Crimson eyes peeked towards the faunus who had begun to descend the stairs only to sit down on the steps near the bottom.  The mintette pushed herself off the wall to stand in front of the small form before her.  “I don’t know if it was that particularly as much as who you would be when you arrived.”

Amber orbs looked up from hugged knees.  “What do you mean?”

The illusionist moved up to take a seat beside the faunus as she loosed a sigh.  “The thing is, Beacon hit Ruby hard with losing her team, but when Yang returned she thought things would get back to normal.  And, well, it was obvious that Yang wasn’t the same person she was at Beacon.”

Emerald leaned forward slightly as her gaze seemed to look at something beyond the hallway at the bottom of the stairs.  “That’s probably what’s hurting her more than anything.  Is having her sister, her friends, the people she cares about.  They all just seem gone, but physically their still here.  They may have all survived, but at the same time no one did.  They all have to find a way to change with what happened, but no one knows how to change in a way that still allows them to hold their ideals.”

Pale thumbs began to fidget as the amber gaze trained on the miniscule movements they were making.  She loved her team the way they were, she didn’t want to think of them changing.  Change is what happened to Adam.  To the White Fang.

And now she’s trying to change that back to the way it was to.

“Why did you join Ruby?”

Crimson eyes flashed under flickering eyelids as if she could see the question but missed it.  “Huh?”

Amber orbs fell to the bottom of the steps which seemed to replay in her mind every moment she could have influenced differently to keep things the way they were.  “What _changed_?”

Crimson eyes analyzed the faunus as a soft smile contemplated arriving on her face.  “Do you miss the White Fang?”

Pale arms hugged tighter as amber continued to bore into the floor.  There was no point in hiding from Emerald.  She seemed to already know everything.  “I miss the way things were.  Fighting for freedom with my father in charge.  With Adam looking out for me.  I miss the days when if I got hurt during a protest gone wrong, Adam would assure me that that wouldn’t stop us.  That we would gain our freedom whatever it takes.”  The amber gaze raised to the ceiling as a humorless laugh escaped the faunus.  “I didn’t realize that ‘whatever it takes’ would mean a change in our tactics.  I thought it meant we would remain steadfast and determined no matter what they threw at us, but he continued to tell me ‘whatever it takes.’  I guess I was so distracted by the consistency of his words that I failed to recognize the change in his character.”

Raven hair ruffled as the faunus shook her head to turn to the mintette.  “What about you?  Was there something in Cinder’s group that you wanted to save?”

A humorless giggle slipped through the air as crimson turned to amber.  “You, a huntress-in-training, truly believe that there would be something worth saving in a group of lunatics that desire to destroy the world.”

“Well, there had to be something there for you to stay with them for so long.”

The mintette shook her head as she tried to stifle her laughter.  “I didn’t stay with them because I found value in the or the work they did, I wasn’t exactly taken from a palace you know.”

The faunus narrowed her eyes as she tried to suppress the feeling that she was being mocked.  “Even so, it’s not easy to leave a place your used to… even when you know leaving is for the better.  You hold onto what you’ve got because you feel like there’s something of value where you’re at that you can save.”

The crimson gaze stared in bewilderment at the faunus before the mintette snapped out of her thoughts and got up to head down the stairs.  “I simply joined Cinder because it was a means to survive, I didn’t see myself as having any other option.”

The amber gaze stared at Emerald’s back expectantly before lowering just a little in seeming disappointment.  “Though if I’m being honest,” the dark woman turned with a soft smile as she watched feline ears perk at her voice.  “I guess there is something I’m grateful for with being in that group.”

The faunus straightened a little as she tilted her head to the side.  “And that would be?”

Crimson eyes wandered before looking further down the hallway.  “Cinder did teach me how to read.”

The mintette could practically feel the shock emanating from the faunus as she heard the woman ruffling to stand from her seat.  “Wha-”

“It wasn’t out of the goodness of her heart I assure you.”  The crimson gaze dropped as the mintette turned back to watch the rising faunus.  “She had this Beacon invasion thing planned for a while now, and an illiterate student would be too suspicious.”

“But, you never learned how to read?”

The bewildered faunus asked as she walked to be beside the woman.  The mintette simply shrugged before turning to Blake.  “Who do you think would teach me?  Sharecroppers aren’t educated.  The farm holds are so spread apart and with the threat of the Grimm no one would bother to open schools for those working the fields.  And you can’t work the fields if you’re in school in the kingdoms.”

Realization dawned on the faunus as she let her gaze drop to the floor as she simply let an “oh” fall to the floor.  “I… see…”

“That’s what changed.” Amber orbs snapped to the soft smile painting the face before her.  “I got to go to school.  I got to learn and train for a purpose of making a change in the world we live in.  I got to talk about a future.  Those were things I’d never really had before.  It was like I was finally able to dream.”

Crimson eyes shimmered in a nearly dreamy sense before they fell back to the floor with a bashful expression crossing dark skin.  “Sorry, that was stupid.  Though I can’t help but be jealous that idealism is such a privilege sometimes.”

A soft smile crossed the faunus’ face as she placed a comforting hand on the bare shoulder.  “I’ve done lots of things I’m not proud of, but although it is my idealism that makes me deemed a traitor amongst some of my closest friends, I will never regret wanting to make things better.”

Crimson eyes glanced at the hand on her shoulder before turning back to the faunus’ face and offering a small smile.  “Thank you.”

The faunus returned the hand to her side and returned the smile that the mintette offered.  “Anytime.”

“Now,” the ex-thief emphasized with a long stretch of her arms upwards.  “Let’s get some breakfast, the cafeteria’s this first door to the left.”

Blake gave a short nod as she began to follow only to be paused by the sounds of shouting and rough-housing happening behind her.

“What’s going on?”  The mintette asked as she approached the stairwell.

“I’m not-” the faunus began only for her feline ears to perk up as terror crossed her face.  “Oh no.”

“What is it?”

“Emerald run!”

“Huh? Why-ah!”

The mintette finally noticed the crimson tornado with a yellow streak barreling down the stairs towards them as they quickly turned to rush to the safety of the cafeteria only to be crushed by the brightly colored boulder of the quarreling siblings.

“Ow, Yang, that wasn’t fair!”

The blonde staggered to her feet only to fall over one of the fallen bodies before her and struggling to try again.  “Well, you were the one who thought it’d be fun to have a race!”

“Well you didn’t have to tackle me like that!”

“But you were going to use your semblance and that would’ve been cheating!”

“Can the two of you just _please_ get off of us!?”

The two siblings looked at each other before looking beneath them to find the dazed forms of Blake and Emerald.  The two immediately leapt from their place to get off their fallen comrades and offer to help them up.

“Oh my gosh!  I’m so sorry!  I didn’t think there’d be anyone at the bottom of the stairs and I wasn’t paying attention and-”

“Ruby, it’s alright.”  The mintette interrupted the young leader’s ramblings as she began to work the kinks out of her back.  “It’s not like it’s the first time you’ve run into me in the hallway before.”

The crimsonette began to blush as a smug smirk accompanied Emerald’s light giggle as Yang helped Blake up.

“Sorry about that Blake, but what are you doing out here?  I thought you were saving us spots at the cafeteria.”

“Well we were on our way there until you two bumped into us.”

Silver and lavender linked simultaneously at the newfound information as they both looked at Blake.  “You mean you haven’t gotten to the cafeteria since leaving my room?”

“Um…”  The faunus began but couldn’t think of the words to continue with as the two siblings turned to look at each other with Emerald hiding her face in her palm.

“This won’t be good.”

“To the cafeteria!”

The hyperactive siblings rushed the small distance to the cafeteria’s doors as their jaws visibly dropped from where Blake and Emerald had remained frozen in front of the stairs.  Looking to each other with Emerald simply giving a shrug, they followed the two siblings only to see the vision that had them so transfixed.

In the center of the cafeteria was Ren and Nora, Ren with an empty plate that looked to have been well used for breakfast while Nora had a plate of fifty or so pancakes towering over her as she eyed it greedily while, behind the duo, a bright red CLOSED sign was visible on the kitchen counter.  Immediately the crimson leader rushed to the table with her trusty sibling following suit.  “Nora!  You can’t buy out the breakfast counter again!  That’s not fair!”

“Sorry Ruby!”  The viking shouted as she stood triumphantly with one foot on the table as she mounted her fork in the top pancakes of the stack.  “But you know what they say!  You snooze, you lose!”  She lifted her fork to bring the buttery goodness to her mouth before finding that the pancakes were stolen right off the utensil.

“Huh?  What-”

“Well too bad for _you_ ,” the blonde emphasized as she held the stolen pancake in her metallic hand.  “You can’t have your _pancakes_ and eat them to!”

Nora slammed her palms against the table as she glared daggers at the brawler.  “You’d better give that back.”

“YOINK!!!”

The viking looked around as she noticed the mass of rose petals that surrounded her with the crimsonette now standing next to her sister with the giant tower of pancakes as the blonde began to taunt the enraged pancake fanatic with her stolen prize.  “If you want this back, you’ve got to come and get it.”

Ren quietly took a final sip of his tea and got up to leave as Nora stood fully on the table.  “You’re playing a dangerous game right now.”

The two siblings simply looked at each other before mischievous smiles fell upon both of them.  “Aw, come on!  What’s the worst you could do?”

“You don’t talk to me like that!  I’m queen of the castle!”

The two siblings began to run to one side of the cafeteria as Nora leapt off the tables to chase them down, Ruby throwing pancakes at different intervals to try to distract the crazed viking as the sounds of laughter and cheers drowned out the silence.

Transfixed with the scene, Blake and Emerald simply watched from afar giggling as the siblings began to turn over the tables to try to create a fort to defend from the hyper-active hammer-wielder in her fight for the pancakes when Ren appeared before them.

“Let me know when it’s safe to come back.”

Emerald simply gave a nod with Blake stammering slightly in confusion at the whole scenario before turning towards Emerald.  “Hey, this is a hotel isn’t it?  Why haven’t I seen anyone else here?”

The mintette giggled at the question before turning to the faunus.  “Well, this hotel is usually used by huntsmen and huntresses who simply came here for a job and are heading back to their own kingdom, but with the kill in transportation there haven’t been lots of huntsmen and huntresses from outside kingdoms coming in.  And as far as the residents who currently are here…”  The crimson gaze turned to the mess of pancakes that had spilled in the corner with the three girls laughing amongst the pile.  “They usually clear out when they see Nora coming through.”

The faunus panned the room as realization dawned on her.  “You’ve mentioned that JNPR came with Ruby.  Is Jaune here to?”

Crimson orbs fell as a sigh dropped to the floor before the mintette gave a response.  “He’s... He’s here.  He’s struggling, but he’ll come around.”  The ex-thief nodded her head towards their food frenzied friends.  “They have.”

Blake turned her gaze to the laughing trio who were now buried under a mess of pancakes and tangled between table legs.  A giggle escaped her lips.  It was so reminiscent, so familiar.  It wasn’t Beacon and it wasn’t watermelons and baguettes, but it was exactly the same.

It was obvious that everything had changed.

But the important things never had.

And hopefully, those important things never will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thank you everyone who read this story, I promise I will keep this story going and I am so grateful for the continued support! So please kudos, comment and review.


	6. Replanting the Fallen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're probably so sick of hearing this, but I am sooooooooo sorry for how long it's been since I've updated this work. Life got super ridiculous in April and I hadn't had a spare moment till now. Anyways, I'm hoping to double time t on the writing since I finally have some time this summer. So, once again, I apologize sincerely for the long wait. I am so grateful for all the support, kudos, bookmarks and comments and hope that everyone enjoys this next chapter!

Why did _she_ have to do this?

Marching down the crowded streets of Mistral with purpose weighing her head down a little lower than what was usually expected from her, or really anyone of her stature in general, as she muttered grumpily to herself, lightly shoving people out of her way as she desperately tried to get to the destination she so demised.

Weiss Schnee, former heiress to the Schnee Empire, was heading to a bar.

And no, it wasn’t _her_ idea to go to the bar.  She hadn't fallen  _that_ far in recent years.

It’s all her stupid sister’s fault.

Or it was General Ironwood’s.  Or both.

It all started with Weiss’ decision to leave Atlas.  To continue being a huntress.  Mistral was her only lead.

So she stowed away on a ship, like a certain someone she remembered from another lifetime ago, and made her way to Mistral where miraculously, the fall of the communications tower in Beacon worked to her advantage.  For the first reason, no one knew that Weiss was no longer the heiress which also meant that no one knew that she was essentially a runaway vagabond from her father’s tyrannical rule.  On the second hand, news spreads pretty fast when an Atlesian noble suddenly pops up in another kingdom unattended.  She was partly concerned when no one in Mistral seemed to know anything about Atlesian forces being anywhere near Mistral, until a young man she'd recognized in her sister's company found her and escorted her to a small camp.

Weiss was surprised by the small force that currently lay on the outskirts of the forest given her overhearing they had intel that Mistral would most likely be the next kingdom attacked by the fanatical force that brought down Beacon.  Why weren’t they preparing for war?

Winter explained it all however.  Atlas decided that after the disaster that occurred in Vale, and the way that their own androids were used to aid in the destruction of an entire kingdom, General Ironwood wanted to keep all his forces in Atlas and leave the rest of the world to fend for themselves.

Winter disagreed.

After a short discussion, Winter managed to convince General Ironwood to let her and four other soldiers remain on two conditions.  The first was that they had to report immediately back if there was any threat that may arrive in Atlas.  The second was that they were absolutely forbidden from intervening in any problems that would arise in the kingdom.  They would report the incident and inform the general, but Mistral would have to stand on its own.

But she could be there for Weiss.

She was somehow always there for Weiss.

At least until now.

Their latest Atlesian informant said that there have been complaints of a huntsman that wasn’t native to the kingdom who was simply spending all his time getting drunk.

Winter wanted that investigated.

But, after her last run-in with the person she _thought_ would be the rumored drunk, she felt that the sight of any Atlesian soldier would escalate the situation, thereby compromising her whole mission.  But Weiss could help.

After all, she _was_ on the same team with that drunk’s niece.

So Weiss was to go into the bar, find their drunk and determine what information he could give on what’s happening in Mistral.

That is, if he _is_ who she thinks he is.

But with reports showing a dwindling in huntsmen and huntresses in Mistral, and very few straying far from their home kingdoms it only made sense that _he_ would continue the mission after what happened to his home.

And so Weiss was off.

Still steaming out the ears at the idea that _she_ had to deal with her sister’s drunken drama maker or whatever.  Seriously, why couldn’t Winter handle her own matters like an adult?

Of course, if they ended up fighting each other like they did at Beacon, it would definitely blow Winter’s cover.  Which would in turn would lead to Atlas eventually being questioned about her presence and compromising Weiss’ position within the kingdom.

This way _was_ safest.

That didn’t mean that she had to like it.

The ex-heiress exhaled deeply as she raised her eyes to the sign above her.  The Drunken Huntsman.  Very straightforward.  Blunt.  Obvious.

A lot like the huntsmen she’d been sent to find.

The silverette lifted herself up, keeping her posture straight as she took a deep swallow of what oh so precious air she could gather before wandering into the cesspool of alcohol and misery that she could just feel seeping through the doors.  She took one step forward.  Then another.  Closing her eyes and holding her breath she pushed the door that creaked slowly forward as the brewing stench of her mother’s addiction came in and surrounded her.

“Need ‘nother one.”

She choked slighlty.  Half being her lungs in shock with the putrid air that was filling her lungs while the other half was the shock of the voice that she’d heard.  Mustering the strength to take a peek at the bar where the voice had grumbled from, the last of the alcohol free air she'd saved was exhaled in the shock of what she'd found.

“Jaune?”

“Sorry kid.  You’ve had enough.  Go home and get some rest.”

Fists slammed as the rumored drunk wobbled to get to his feet leaning heavily on the counter in an attempt to intimidate the balding barkeeper.  “I shaid I need ‘nother one!”

“Not with that attitude!  Look kid, I’m not-”

“Jaune!”

The silverette interjected as she tried to pull the blond away from the bartender.  “I’m so sorry, sir-”

“Do you know this guy?  Tell him he needs to stop coming here and-”

“No she disn’t know who I’m!  And what I needs is-”

“Jaune, quit being stubborn!”  The heiress commanded as she sat the swordsman back in his seat and forced him to face her.  “Jaune, what are you doing to yourself?  What are you even doing-”

“You would’ve saved ‘er…”

“He-…”  The heiress had to step back as she looked back at the blonde’s hazy gaze that was as unsteady as her voice.  “E-excuse me?”

“Pyrrha… wanted ‘er for partner.  You would’ve saved ‘er.  Not me.  Not worthless… ol’…”

The mop head lolled back until it refused to move, causing concern to rise within the Beacon ice princess.  At least until a loud snore was heard from the haggard body.

With a loud sigh the flustered Atlesian errand girl turned to the barkeeper.  “How long has he been like this?”

The man sighed heavily as he grabbed a towel and cup to clean it with.  “Early this morning, like always.  Always tell him it’s the last time, but… well…” the barkeeper shook his head as he looked as the young swordsman.  “Always feel bad.  And it always ends the same.”

“When did this start?”

A weary sigh escaped the man as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “About two months ago.  Came in with an older huntsman saying something about it helping.  Should’ve known it would end this way…”

The man grabbed the cup Jaune had used and began inspecting it.  As if looking for the reason Jaune would believe the answer to his struggles would be there.  “Some things just can’t be drunk away.”

The petite woman simply nodded solemnly before turning back to the young swordsman.  She let out a sigh, grabbed one of his arms, and used it to try to sling the taller man onto her back.  “It’s _not_ ending like this.”

* * *

 

It was dark.

It was painful.

It was too damn _loud_.

And now light began to creep in.

And it’s just too damn _bright_.

A weak hand raised to bleary blue eyes a muffled groan escaped the lips of the haggard man.  What was he just doing again?

Fluttering eyes scanned the surroundings.  Where was he anyway?

A sudden realization hit him before he quickly looked down.

Whew, still fully clothed.  But then how did he get here?  And who was that-

His eyes widened as he focused his gaze towards the soft grunts of the hard-working heiress who appeared to be taking this time to polish her rapier skills.

“Weiss?”

A final swoosh of Myrtenaster filled the narrow alley before the silverette straightened her posture and returned the rapier to her side.  “Hello Jaune.”

Another groan escaped from the blond as he slowly rose to lean against the nearest wall.  “Whuh- what are you doing here?”

“ _That_  should be my line.”  The heiress responded, turning to face the swordsman for the first time since he’d awakened.  The ferocity of her tone only matched by the glare she offered him.

“I…” The young man stumbled over his words, trying so hard to give the right answer but the damn- banging- in his- head made full cohesive thoughts so… difficult.  “I came here- t-to save Mistral.”

“And _how_ did you propose to do that from inside a bar?!”

“I…”  He shrunk.  He had nothing to say.  Had nothing in general.  “I’m not needed.  Mistral’ll be fine.  Fine without me.”

“Excuse me?”  The heiress moved forward to look down at the young swordsman beneath her.  “You cannot tell me that you set out on a journey halfway across the world to save a kingdom, just to decide that you’re better off drunk!”

“Well, if you don’t believe me,” the blond began with a snarl crawling across his face, “why don’t you go ask your _leader_ how things’ve been going lately?!”

“Whuh-”

“Yeah, you know, your leader, Ren and Nora’s leader.  Hell, she’s basically my leader too now!  We figured if she was gunna head to Mistral she’d need some help.  Couldn’t let her go alone.”

“Jaune-”

“Of course, she didn’t need us as much as we needed her.  The others even decided to rename us as Team RNJR.  I mean, hah, it’s not like I was ever fit to be leader in the first place.”

“Jau-”

“I mean, I was such a fool!”  The blond shouted as his arms flailed into fists that caused the dust around him to rise.  “I wasn’t meant to be a leader.  I was nothing!  I _still_ am nothing!  I was nothing without Pyrrha!”  Tears welled up in sky blue eyes as they darted to the sheathe that one of his gloved hands so carefully caressed.  “And nothing’s changed.  Still nothing. And again without…”

The tears fell freely as Weiss watched on, uncertain as to how to interject, when the cracked voice continued to trek onward.

“She was from here… you know that?”  The blond gazed at the heiress for a split second before scoffing at himself.  “Of course, you knew that.  You knew she went to Sanctum and topped all the tournaments in Mistral.  _You’re_ the one who told me that.”

“I…”

“Her parents asked me where she was.”

The icey blue gaze widened which seemed to go ignored by the swordsman as he pressed on.  “They said they’d h-heard rumors…” the tears freely fell, flowing and cracking in time to the words.  “Th-they said that- they said they’d heard huntsmen an- and huntresses from Beacon arrived in town. They recognized me. Said they s-saw me on tv.  Said they recognized me as Pyrrha’s l-leader.  Asked me w-why wasn’t she here.”

Tears flowed from the heiress’ eyes as she looked on at the young man she’d looked down on for so long as he bore his soul in her prejudiced presence.

“I-I said she fought- she fought the ringleader.  She was gunna stop her but- but then…”

He clutched the sheathe tighter, so tightly Weiss worried his gauntlets would crack from the strain as the tears continued to fall from the young man’s face, his eyes remaining glued to the piece.  “But now she’s gone!  I tried to stop her but she’s gone!  And they cried.  Th- they told me it was my fault.  That I was her leader.  That I-I should’ve made sure she’d come back.  AND THEY WERE RIGHT!!!”

Sobs and coughs began to mangle his words he tried to explain, “if I were a better leader, a better fighter.  If I was actually something I-…”

The young huntsman bawled.  Hugging his sword and holding it as close as he could as he cried his soul out to what remained of the dearest person he’d ever known.  “I’m sorry Pyrrha… I’m so sorry… I could’v- I should’ve been able to save you!  You should still be here. And I-… And I-…” The thoughts broke as his tears became uncontrollable and shudders wracked his body.  “I’m sorry…”

A pale hand covered the gloved one as the blond looked tentatively into the ice blue eyes of an heiress.  “Jaune…”

Strong arms shot out to encase the petite silverette, one hand still grasping the sheath as the arms tugged tighter to ensure even death wouldn’t take her from that embrace.  “I’m sorry…”

“Jaune…” the warm tone paused as the once icy heiress gently placed her hands on the swordsman’s back.  “They’re wrong.  It’s not your fault Jaune.  Please don’t say that…”

“But it is…” The blond held tighter, both to the heiress, and the sheathe that represented the last of his lost everything.  “They were doing something.  Giving Pyrrha power or… I don’t know.  I mean, i-it didn’t make sense.”  Soft sobs came as the swordsman hid his face in the silverette’s shoulder.  “None of this makes sense…”

“Jaune…” the heiress attempted to console as she began to rub the young knight’s back in what she’d hoped would be a soothing gesture.  “There’s nothing any one of us could’ve done to make a difference.”

The haggard swordsmen pushed the young woman out of the embrace as he stumbled backward, trying to steady himself against the wall.  “You just don’t _get it_ , do you?”

The heiress steadied herself, frustration overriding reason as her voice took on a haughty tone.  “I do _understand_ that drinking your life away is no way to show your respect for our fallen comrade!”

A snarl threatened to stretch across the swordsman’s face, but when his gaze reached the gold of his sheathe his fury was subsided.  Blue eyes watered over as the swordsman slid down the wall and began to simply stare at the golden lacing of his sheathe while his fingers glided across the seams.  The heiress gave a soft sigh as she recomposed herself before moving to sit next to her grieving friend.

“Did you realize that the group leading the terrorist attack on Beacon had hacked into the CCT tower before the beginning of the tournament.”

“Let me guess, that’s how Cinder took over all the broadcasts to convince the world we were nothing but a bunch of blood crazed lunatics right.”

The silverette took a deep breath as she suppressed the desire to roll her eyes at such a statement.  “Simply put, yes.  However, it wasn’t just the broadcasting networks that Cinder had control of.”

The blond mop head lolled as the swordsman decided feigning interest was a lost cause.  “What difference does that make.”

“Jaune, the CCT isn’t just in charge of all communication.  The tower stored all information on any data uploaded through any scroll or other device.  It essentially houses every piece of information ever saved in all of Remnant.  One of those pieces of information was the randomization formula for determining opponents in the Vytal Festival.”

“Wait, so that means-”

“Yes… Pyrrha’s battle against Penny.  Yang’s battle against Mercury.  Those were set ups meant to attack our morale.”

“So then why us huh?!” The sharp voice cracked as more tears threatened blue eyes.  “Why were we the targets for their stupid games?!  We’re not even real huntsmen and huntresses yet!”

“Well, for why they’d target Yang, I could only imagine it had something to do with our team getting involved with trying to take down the White Fang."  The silverette spoke, so matter-of-factly, "I’d guess it would be a way to humble us after our victories against them, or to try to get us to start questioning each other so that we would be too distracted to continue thwarting their efforts.  I hate to admit that it probably _did_ work considering how things ended up with… us…”

A quick silence fell as the heiress examined the space in front of her.  Her life had felt so empty without her teammates around.  She took a deep breath.  That couldn’t be helped now.  “As for Pyrrha… well… I’m sure they targeted her for the same reason I did…”

“Why? ‘Cuz she was famous?”

“She wasn’t just famous Jaune…” the soft blue gaze turned toward him as she continued her explanation, her tone failing to hide the sheer amount of admiration she felt for the amazoness warrior.  “She was a hero… She was supposed to be the person who would stand for everything good we’ve fought for in the world and be able to annihilate any threat that came to our world.”

“So...” fists clenched as the blond tried desperately not to let the tears come back.  “You mean, Pyrrha’s death, it was nothing more than another message to send?”

“Jaune I…” the heiress paused, beginning to realize that the information she was sharing might just be upsetting the blonde more, but also feeling she’d shared too much to not finish her thought.  “I-I’m sorry Jaune.  I just… It wouldn’t have mattered.  If Pyrrha hadn’t have gone after them…”

“I get it…” the soft despondent voice answered, his immovable eyes fixed on the golden lining of Crocea Mors.  A soft gloved finger traced along the gold as a tear fell to synchronize the movement.  “Sh-She’s really gone isn’t she?”

A soft sigh escaped from the heiress as she looked down as if to examine the geological structure of the dirt alleyway.  “Do you… Would you mind if I told you something Winter said to me a long time ago?”

A despondent shrug came with a low voice.  “Not like I’ve got anything else to do…”

The heiress ignored the comment, choosing instead to simply proceed with her next thought.  “When I was about six years old I lost my cousin.  I didn’t know her that well, but I know that Winter looked up to her.  She was a huntress.”

“Sorry to hear that…”

A soft sigh escaped the heiress as she pressed on, knowing that her companion was trying to be as sincere as possible.  “It’s… that wasn’t the point.  I just… later on… after things had settled down I talked to Winter about it.  I asked her if she missed Willow now that she was gone and she told me something…”

The silverette paused, fumbling over her thumbs as she looked over to the young swordsman, working with as even a tone as she could manage.  “Sh-She told me that Willow wasn’t gone.”

A soft chuckle escaped the heiress as she pressed on.  “I asked her where Willow was if she wasn’t gone.  If our parents knew or… well, she just hushed me… she said that Willow may not be here, but she wasn’t gone.  After all, it’s impossible to be gone when you continue to inspire the lives you touched.”

A pale hand rested near the hilt of the golden-lined sheathe as the silverette took in the sight.  “So long as we are inspired by the people closest to us, they continue to guide our lives, and through this, they continue to live on beyond their mortal lives.”

Blue eyes glanced at the hand that gently perched upon the sheathe as the eyes began to trail the gold lining, words flooding his memory.

_For it is in passing that we achieve immortality.  Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all; infinite in distance and unbound by death._

“I’m sorry…” the soft voice flowed as the pale hand fluttered away from the Crocea Mors.  “That probably didn’t make any sense.”

“Actually…” the swordsman paused, lifting the blade to meet his gaze as he finally took in how the gold that intertwined and mingled with his grandfather’s relic, eyes misting over at the intimacy of the design.  “It all makes perfect sense now… thank you.”

“Oh-uh of course!”  The heiress replied, though she figured she wasn’t heard since the swordsman had busied himself with getting up.  Wiping the tears with his arm and extending a hand to his friend as he offered a tentative smile.  “Well, I guess I can’t keep moping on here, can I?  I’ve probably disappointed Pyrrha enough…”

The heiress rose to meet the knight’s downcast eyes as she placed a hand on the broad shoulder.  “Jaune, I don’t think Pyrrha could ever be disappointed in you.  As a matter of fact, I think she’d be proud of you.  I think she was always proud that you never gave up, even when you weren’t the best fighter, or student, and it _was_ rather irritating when you continually tried asking me out no matter how many times I told you no-”

“Is this you still trying to make me feel better, because I’m feeling worse now.”

“The _point_ is,” the heiress practically hissed through her teeth, “You don’t give up.  No matter how impossible the odds, you continue to try.  No matter how disadvantaged you were at Beacon, you did whatever you could to rise to the challenge.  And even when _I_ had my doubts in you Pyrrha never did, because she’d always believed that your determination would pull you through…”

The hand fell away as the once known ice princess offered the blond a warm smile.  “So, as long as you don’t give up, then you can’t possibly disappoint Pyrrha.  That’s the quality she admired the most from you.”

“If you say so…” the low voice wavered on the air as the swordsman cast his gaze aside.  “Is Willow the reason you became a huntress?”

There was a pause as the Schnee heiress loosed a soft sigh.  “In a way.  I didn’t want to continue the legacy that my father set up, but Winter adored Willow.  That was her inspiration for joining the military.  And I wanted to be part of that.  Part of a legacy so great that it inspired my older sister to abandon all rights to the company and help save the world…” The voice trailed off, as her gaze fell and tone grew soft.  “I guess, I wanted to be the person who could carry Winter’s legacy, whatever happens next.”

The swordsman hummed in thought as his eyes glanced back at the gold, before loosing a sigh and returning the sheathe in its place at his hip.  “I guess I need to get it together if I wanna carry Pyrrha’s legacy then, huh?”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, this is a rather good start.”

A humorless chuckle escaped the blond as he shook his head.  “Last time I take advice from Qrow.”

“Seriously,” the heiress huffed as she folded her arms.  “You need to find yourself far better role models.”

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind next time.”

“Good!”  the heiress exclaimed as she began to look around the alley.  “So… what next.”

“Well…” the swordsman drawled.  “I’m thinking it’s about high time I got back home, and you should probably get back home to.”

“Why would I head back home?”

“Because,” the blonde answered with a small smile.  “Home is where your team is.  Well, at least that’s where home’s been for me.”

“M-My team?”  The heiress asked dumbfounded.  She hadn’t heard of anything that’s happened to anyone from RWBY since Beacon but, would she still have a place there?

“Come on,” the swordsman extended a gloved hand with a half-reassured smile.  “It’s time we both got back.

The heiress inspected the hand for a moment, then moved to the face the appendage belonged to.  She hadn’t realized _how_ haggard the young man had appeared.  His hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in a while, his eyes were dark and puffy around the edges and his face looked like it’s been smeared with dirt and booze.

He looked like he might’ve been dead.

But there was just enough spark of life in him now.

Enough that let Weiss know that he’d be okay.

And so would she and her team.

Gently she placed a dainty hand in the gloved gauntlet as the young man began to lead the way.

“Thank you Jaune.  I… I appreciate this.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”  The soft voice came as Jaune looked back to give her a smile.  “The least I could do is reunite you with your team, just as you’ve given me the chance to reunite mine.”

The heiress averted her gaze as a warmth rose to her cheeks feeling suddenly flustered.  What would she even say to her team?  And was the _whole_ team there, or was Ruby still waiting for her far-flung friends to finally reconvene?

It didn’t matter.

Whatever the circumstance, whatever the reasoning, Weiss would hold her head up proud and let her leader know that she would continue to fight as a huntress to the bloody end.

She had her honor as a Schnee to uphold after all.

* * *

 

Something was brewing on the horizon.

He couldn’t really say what, but he could definitely tell when something was about to happen.

So why didn’t anyone else seem concerned?  The signs should be obvious at this point.

The longer that they stayed in the hotel, the more they noticed huntsmen and huntresses not returning.  The others would claim that they probably went home, or had extended missions.

Ren disagreed.

“So this is where you’ve been holing yourself up at!”

The young man sighed as he could practically feel his bouncey partner bubble up, bounding behind him.  “Good afternoon Nora.  How are the others?”

“Psh, they’re fine of course!”  The eccentric viking exclaimed as she hopped onto the railing to take a seat next to her partner.  “It’s you I’m worried about though.”

“Why would you be concerned about me.”

“Uh, because of precisely this!”  The hammer wielder exclaimed with her arms outstretched to the scene before them.

This caused the ninja to turn towards his partner, “You’re concerned that I’m enjoying the fine scenery from our hotel’s balcony?”

“Pfft.  You see, this is why everyone thinks I’m crazy for worrying about you.  Or maybe they think I’m obsessive.  Either way, you’re not helping my case here.  And beside…” the thought broke off as the orangette watched her legs swing idly beneath her on the balcony.  “I know you better than that…”

A deep sigh left the young man as he leaned forward against the balcony railing.  “It’s nothing.  You needn’t worry about it.”

“Then why are _you_ worrying about it?”

Blue determined eyes bore into the analytical magenta that focused on the face before scanning the rest of the kingdom that spread out beneath them.  “Can you feel it coming?”

The viking’s mouth tightened into a thin line as she took in the serious tone.  “You think the next attack is coming soon?”

“I…” the man paused as he studied the buildings, trees, streets, mountains, people all laid out before him, absorbing the scene.  “I’m not sure.  It just feels… similar…”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s my…” the ninja paused, giving a sigh before pressing forward.  “It’s my semblance.  There’s a piece to it that I… I never told anyone about.”

“Your… semblance?  You mean you can do more than just suppress emotion?”

“Well, it’s more of a precedent effect that comes with it.  Similar to how your semblance allows you to both absorb lightning as well as use it to strengthen yourself.  It’s not that you do more than absorb lightning, it’s just that it’s the necessary condition for you to utilize your semblance.”

“Ooookay?”  The orangette responded, not fully grasping where the conversation was going.  “So, then, there’s something that happens before you can use your semblance?”

“Well, it would be difficult to shift other’s emotions if I couldn’t know about them first-hand.”

Realization began to dawn on the viking as she looked over the railing and noticed all the people on the streets, flowing like water through their lives under their naked eyes.  “You mean, you’re feeling something from all of them?”

“Not… individually… however,” the young man gulped slightly as he continued his watch over all the people that they had set out to save.  “There’s one emotion that’s standing out as being common amongst all of the denizens here.”

“And what emotion is that?”

“Fear.”

The low growl of the word forced the blue eyed hammer wielder to double check the crowd.  Looking to see if she could see what it was that Ren was seeing.  And how she could have missed it.  “Has this kingdom always felt so… scared?”

The ninja bowed his head as his gaze fell over the railing.  “I’m not entirely certain.  It has definitely grown in the weeks we’ve been here however...  I think people are noticing less huntsmen and huntresses are present in the kingdom.”

“What are you talking about?  I mean, sure, this hotel isn’t as busy as when we first showed up, but I’m sure everyone ended up just traveling by foot to their home kingdoms like we did, right?”

“It’s not just the huntsmen and huntresses here…” the ninja began, glaring out at the horizon that was filled with so many unknowns.  “The ones who are native to this kingdom, the ones assigned here.  They’ve been going missing as well.”

The viking squealed as she fell backwards off her perch and crashed back onto the balcony.  “What do you mean the huntsmen and huntresses here have been disappearing as well?  Where would they be going?”

“That’s what I’ve been wondering, and I believe what everyone here has been wondering to.”

The crowd continued moving, a single head in the crowd turning up and looking in their direction briefly before moving back on their way.  Continuing down the uncertain road that the future presented.

“Do you think they’re making their next move?”

Another head in the crowd moved quickly against the flow.  Desperation radiating off their presence as they found a small alley and buried their face in their hands.

“I think they may already have.”

Another stranger entered the street, standing still and evaluating the scene as people continued to brush or push past the human obstacle.

“Well how do we stop them?”

The stranger moved amongst the crowd, gesturing wildly as people either ignored their pleas or simply shook their head at the person.

“I don’t know if we can.”

The stranger ran forward only to be knocked back.  Shaking their head violently as they looked up at the large figure who had pushed them back.

“So then what do we do?”

The large figure started shouting at the stranger, who trembled on the ground trying to console the large figure.

“Probably the thing we’ve always been doing.”

The figure continued their tirade, the booming sound adding to the symphony of city life as the stranger shut their eyes and covered their ears trying to block out the situation.

“We’re _not_ running again.”

The stranger dug their fingers into the dirt, fists clenching in a mix of helplessness and defiance as their gray eyes bore into the large figure.

“Well what else do you suppose we can do?”

The figure leaned closer, spitting in the retreating face as their shouts melded into the cacophony of chaos.

“We’ll fight.”

Dirt encrusted fingers flung forward, forcing the large figure to reel backwards as the stranger began darting in the opposite direction.

“Will that even get us anywhere?”

Glaring yellow eyes pierced forward as a hand shot out and grabbed the stranger’s leg, pulling them closer to the heaving tower behind them.

“It’s gotten me to be here with you.”

Another stranger entered the fray, running towards the commotion from the alleyway they were hiding in as soon as they caught sight of it.

“As long as I’m with you Ren, there’s something worth fighting for.”

The newcomer grabbed the large figure’s arm and began to plead with them to leave the stranger alone.  Gesturing desperately for the dispute to end peacefully.

“Is that really enough though?  Does that really make all this worth it?”

The figure knocked the newcomer over, redirecting their rage to the newcomer who had so callously interfered in their affairs.

“Your all I’ve really ever had Ren.”

The stranger brushed passed the figure and moved towards the newcomer, sitting down beside them to offer soft consoling words mixed with fusses over their well-being.

“That’s more than enough for me.”

The young ninja’s lips tightened.  The stranger offered the newcomer a strong embrace, tears flowing as apologies spilled from their lips.

The young man lowered his head and sighed.  “I suppose your right, I just…”

He shook his head.  The stranger rose, meeting the large figure’s eyes as they stood face to face.

“I just sometimes wonder if we’ll ever be able to stop running.  If we’ll ever have a home again.”

Words formed on the stranger’s mouth, wafting momentarily before the figure slapped them.

“I never really feel like I lost my home.”

“What do you mean?”

The newcomer screamed as they tried to rise from the ground, only to be stopped.

“I already told you, I was always with you.”

The stranger standing looked at their companion, arm stretched out to prevent any impulsive gesture, offering a soft smile to their friend.

“I didn’t really have anyone or anything before… well before you showed up.”

The stranger stepped forward, facing the tall figure once more.

“That’s why everything always felt alright with me I guess.  Even when we were wandering the outskirts of the kingdom with no food or clothes until the rescue team found us…”

An outstretched hand extended toward the figure, who eyed it and the small, timid smile the stranger wore with severe suspicion.

“I know everything would be okay so long as I didn’t lose you Ren.”

The viking offered a bright and confident smile to the young ninja who simply looked on at her in mild shock.

As the large figure brushed past, moving down the street and ignoring the two who had occupied his attention for the afternoon.

Ren snapped his head back, the crowd beneath him still moving in a continuous, unending flow.  As if nothing had happened, nothing had changed.

But somewhere in the streets, a small portion of the distress plaguing the kingdom had begun to lift.

A small smile crept upon his lips as his eyes followed the flow of traffic beneath him.  “I suppose some peace can still be found here after all.”

“Huh?”  Blue eyes turned towards where the ninja was facing, leaning heavily forward as eyes squinted intensely across the ever-flowing stream of pedestrians.  She hummed in thought before flinging herself back onto the balcony.  “Did I just miss something?”

The young man shook his head, turning around to lean his back against the balcony railing as his smile grew slightly towards his life-long friend.  “I’m so practiced at recognizing negative emotion because I know that those feelings are more likely to attract the grimm, but I often neglect to notice the positive emotions that are still present in people…” he directed his gaze to be more fixed on the young woman’s blue eyes.  “Like the kinds that you seem to exude on a continual basis, regardless of the state of the world.”

A bright grin stretched across the viking’s face as she giggled softly.  “Hey, life would be so _boring_ if I just wanted to be a Debbie Downer about everything.  Besides, I’ve got a fantastic friend whose always by my side so I have very little to complain about.”

The orangette watched as a soft chuckle escaped the young ninja, relishing in the sound of it that seemed to end oh-too-soon.  She watched as his gaze begin to hover over the door before drifting to the floorboards beneath them.

“You’re still concerned about something.”

A deep sigh escaped the worn martial artist as he didn’t even bother removing his gaze from the ground.  “Qrow hasn’t returned yet.”

The orangette hummed as she understood the direction the conversation would take.  “You worried about him?”

“Huntsmen and huntresses have been slowly disappearing from the kingdom…”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t think anything will happen to Qrow, I mean, he knows more about what’s going on than any of us.  He’ll know to watch out for himself.”

“But what if he doesn’t get back until after they start their invasion of Mistral?”

The viking punched the palm of her fist as a wicked grin spread across her face.  “Then Nora.  Will.  Smash.”

The ninja shook his head at his friend’s antics.  “I think it will take more than simple brute force to defeat these guys.”

An exasperated groan escaped the hammer-wielder as she slid down the railing to sit on the floor.  “Well, if that’s not enough for you then... well... Emerald’s with us now.  She probably would know best how to go about a means of attack.  And Blake and Yang have joined us recently, with Yang getting better everyday thanks to your meditation trainings.  Between all of us, we should be able to come up with something.”

“Don’t you two think you’re forgetting someone?”

The blonde knight staggered in, stumbling and leaning on the door frame for support.  Both pairs of eyes widened on him before the orangette bounced with a squeal and rushed over to hug him.

“Jaune…” the young ninja moved forward slowly, as if scared that moving too quickly would cause the young man to disappear.  “You’re here…”

The knight returned the quick embrace before looking back to his fellow teammate.  “Yeah, sorry it took me a while to come back…”

The ninja offered a nod that was quickly interrupted by the hyper-active hammer-wielder.  “That’s okay fearless leader!”

“We’re just glad you’ve decided to come back.”

A sheepish grin overtook the blonde’s face as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “Yeah, well, it’s not like I got here on my own or anything…”

“What are you-” the orangette began before she silenced herself at the sight of the familiar silverette who entered the room.

“Wei-”

“WEISS!”  The Viking leapt up to give the dumbstruck heiress one of her bone crushing hugs.  “Omigosh!  You’re here too!  What a coincidence!  So is the rest of your team!”

“Uh- So I’ve heard.”  The heiress grunted as she gently pushed out of the viking’s death grip.  “However, I haven’t seen any of them since I arrived here.”

“Oh, well, there not _here_ here necessarily.”

“Ruby and Emerald went into town to resupply since their last mission.”

The heiress turned towards the young rugged knight.  “Emerald?”

“It’s… a long story…”

The silverette shrugged before turning back to the ninja.  “I apologize for the interruption, please continue.”

The ninja offered a curt nod before continuing.  “Like I said, Ruby is not here presently, however Blake and Yang are currently meditating in the hotel auditorium.  If you’d like I could guide you there.”

“No need.  Jaune showed me where it was on our way up here, though I appreciate the offer.”  The heiress turned back as she began to leave.  “I will go find my teammates and catch up on what I’ve missed.  I’d recommend you three do the same.”

And with that she left, leaving three pairs of eyes looking about each other confusedly before the young leader slid back against the wall to collapse on the ground, forcing the other two to turn their attention to him.

“Jaune!” The orangette screamed.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine…” the young man answered with a haggard smile and a groan that gave way to a small frown.  “Look… guys… I-I’m sorry.” The young man grunted, struggling to sit upright.  “I shouldn’t have let you down as a leader-”

“Jaune, don’t worry about it!”  The cheery orangette interrupted as she tried to help support his efforts in sitting up.

The young ninja placed a firm hand on the knight’s shoulder.  “We have as much to apologize for Jaune.  We shouldn’t have left you in that state in the first place.”

“It’s fine.”  The young man snipped rather quickly.  “You all had things you needed to get done and I wasn’t helping in any of it.  I was just dead weight.”

“You are our leader,” the stern voice said as magenta eyes bore into the young knight’s head.

“And, you’re our friend!”  The orangette announced as her arms flailed wildly with her in immense excitement.

A soft chuckle escaped the swordsman as he forced himself to lean more backwards for support.  “Thanks guys, you’re really the best.”

“Hardly.”

“But we’re a team!”  The viking shouted with absolute glee.  “Omigosh, I just realized something!  We haven’t come up with a new team name since Emerald showed up!  Oh, and now Ruby’s whole team is back so we’d have to have RWBY in the new team name somewhere, or are we a completely new team of eight since we’re all working together… hm…”

“Actually, Nora,” the young blond interrupted as he moved to lean forward.  “I actually had an idea on what team name we’d wanna have.”

“REALLY?!”

“Really?” the ninja asked with much more skepticism in his voice than his partner.

“Yeah, I’ve decided…” the young leader grunted as he struggled to stand back up, his teammates quick to assist him as he rose.  Clutching his sword and taking a deep breath, the leader announced, “we’re going back to being JNPR.”

Both pairs of eyes widened as they looked to each other for some sign of petition.

“Jaune-”

“I know Py-… I know that she passed guys.  I know there’s no reversing that… and I can accept that.”

The soft tone of the ninja interrupted the thought.  “Are you certain that’s what you want though?”

“Yeah…”  The leader paused as he looked at the sheath.  “Because even though she’s not here to fight with us, I know that Pyrrha would’ve wanted to see this fight through.”

Small smiles stretched across his teammates’ faces as they looked back to their leader.  “That sounds like a fine idea.  Finishing this how we started.”

“Yeah, that sounds awesome!  Of course, if we want to finish this we’re gunna have our work cut out for us.”

The young blond leaned against the wall as he struggled to remain standing.  “I hear Qrow hasn’t come back yet.”

“He hasn’t.”

“And huntsmen and huntresses have been disappearing all throughout the kingdom.”

“Yeah, I know.”  The swordsman answered with a sigh.  “Weiss told me that to.  Apparently, Atlas has a small investigation team that no one’s supposed to know about.”

“Atlas is here to investigate?”

“That must mean that something bigs gunna happen here.”

“Well, whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”  The swordsman struggled to stand fully upright as he gave his most reassuring smile and stuck his hand out palm down.  “We’ll do it as Team JNPR.”

A small smile crept upon the ninja’s face as his hand hovered over his leader’s.  “To Team JNPR.”

“Yeah!  I mean, JNPR’s a way cooler name than both RNJR and JNRR combined anyway!”  The orangette announced with soft giggles as she threw her hand into the pile as all hands were flung upwards and their leader began to shout.

“Let’s do this te-”

He stumbled forward.  Nora and Ren rushed over to catch him, concern riddling their faces before they heard a snore rise from their leader.  Soft laughter resounded between the two as they both escorted their leader back to their quarters.  There was a lot of work ahead of them.

Surely, it could wait until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this story is kinda just me poking at the things that irked me in the canon series, like the JNPR name change. But I digress. I had two other names for Weiss' cousin but one I wanted to use for an OC in another series I'm planning to start after this and the other just didn't ring well, so Willow stuck. I'm also aware that the Drunken Huntsmen is the name of a tavern in Skyrim, but I just thought the name was too perfect to use in this situation to not use. Anyways, thanks so much for reading and please feel free to kudos, comment or bookmark.


	7. Illusion's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A new update? Aw hell yeah! And with 43 kudos, 7 bookmarks and over 1000 hits? The only thing that would make me happier is getting over 50 kudos and 10 bookmarks to really make my day! I just gotta say, I will do everything I can to get this updated regularly. I've made it a personal goal to update at one of my fics at least once a week, making Sunday the deadline, but now that I'm back to work things might get done a little later, but I'm determined to keep this trend going. As a reminder, I did rate this fic M just to be safe, but use your discretion as far as reading this fic. Anyways, thank you all so much for the continued support as the feedback. I really appreciate hearing from my readers and knowing that they're continuing to enjoy the story. Enjoy the read and please feel free to drop a comment, kudos or bookmark.

She had been waiting so long for this.

She knew that this was the moment that she had waited for the moment she gazed at the silverette and tackled her into an octopus hug.

Team RWBY was back together.

And they just _had_ to celebrate!

So the crimsonette had asked them all to gather in the hotel lobby, where she had thrown together a few decorations while she skipped through the hallway with confetti cradled in her arms.

This was going to be the _best day ever!!!_

She kicked open the door, flung the confetti above her head and shouted at the top of her lungs as a banner fell to convey her message textually.

“WELCOME BACK TEAM RWBY!!!”

The confetti fell silently, slowly floating to the ground as the crimsonette stood with her arms outstretched and grin beaming.

The hotel lobby was empty.

Well, _almost_ empty.

There was a very confused hotel employee who was watching the television there.

The crimsonette’s features shifted from elation to sorrow as her arms drooped and she pouted excessively.

Where  _was_ everyone?

The reaper let her gaze pan across the room before she noticed the back of a green head.  Using her semblance, she burst forth in a flurry of rose petals as she skidded to a stop just in front of the couch.

“EMERALD!!!”

The mintette fumbled as the headphone’s fell off her head and landed in her hands.  “Geez, these are _not_ as soundproof as you led me to believe.”

“EMERA-! Wait, are those my headphones?”

“Uh, you said I could help myself to anything I needed.”

A finger rested on the scythe-wielder’s chin as she lifted her gaze and hummed in thought.  She wasn’t sure if she _had_ said that or not, but decided to shrug it off.  “You look like you’re taking good care of them.  Oh, but, never mind that!  Where is everyone?!”

The mintette rolled her eyes as she turned back to the young leader.  “Well, Jaune’s still in bed recovering from his last outing, Weiss went back to report to her Atlesian officials that Qrow was no longer in the kingdom, Blake and Yang decided to go out and see how Yang does with being outside of the hotel since meditation’s been going well and Ren and Nora left to investigate the disappearing hunstmen and huntresses as well as try to find any irregularities that may involve the White Fang.”

“Wait, what do you mean the ‘disappearing huntsmen and huntresses?’”

The illusionist released a sigh as she shifted to sit forward on the couch.  “Well, right after you tackled the heiress there, babbled something incoherently and burst out of the auditorium, Ren and Nora showed up with Ren saying that he’s been noticing a decrease in huntsmen and huntresses in the kingdom.  Weiss basically confirmed the information saying that Atlas had been tracking the rates at which huntsmen and huntresses were leaving and returning to the kingdom, but the return rate was far lower than the exit rate.”

“Well, I walked across Anima and the settlements aren’t that close together,” the crimsonette reasoned.  “Maybe it’s simply taking them longer to complete missions.”

“Again, Ren and Nora wanted to investigate this.  They’re not sure if it’s actually worth getting worked up about yet.”

The scythe-wielder hummed in thought as she took a seat next to the mintette.  “Do you think we should be worried?”

The illusionist offered a shrug.  “Worry brings about the Grimm, so that wouldn’t be my top recommendation.  Although, trying to separate the kingdom’s defenses and the kingdom is a common strategy that Salem likes to deploy, so it could be important.”

The crimsonette pouted softly as a muffled whine escaped her.  “Man, I really wanted to celebrate RWBY getting back together!!!”

“Wait, is that what you were saying before you left this afternoon.”

“Yeeeessss.”  The whine drawled as silver orbs sought out some amount of pity from the crimson gaze.  “I’ve been planning this event for a whole two hours!  How could no one show up!”

The mintette loosed a giggle at the leader’s sulking.  “Well, in their defense, I don’t think anyone knew you were planning this kind of event.  I mean, it’s not like you sent invitations or anything.”

“Oh, I totally forgot-!”  The crimosnette stopped herself, noticing the smirk that painted itself across the ex-thief’s face.  Ruby pouted as she stubbornly crossed her arms.  “Okay, I see your point.”

The smirk softened as the mintette shook her head.  “I’m sorry Ruby.”

“Your fine… it’s just… I really wanted us to celebrate getting back together.  I mean, we could all share our stories on how we managed to travel to a foreign kingdom during a time when air travel was banned, and relive the moments of how we all found each other and got reunited with the team and vote on whose was the most exciting.”

“Yeah, no offense, but I think ‘reunion stories’ miiiight not be the best idea for a reunion party.  Though I will say that I’d probably vote Weiss’ reunion as being the least exciting since that was the only one where I didn’t get shot at upon arrival.”

“Oh… right… well hey, I didn’t shoot at you either when I first found you!”

Crimson orbs rolled at the statement.  “Yeah, I’ll be sure to get you a medal for that at some point.”

“Really?!”

The mintette stared at the younger woman credulously as realization began to settle on the gullible leader.  “Oh… right…”

The thief let a soft chuckle escape her as the crimsonette sunk deeper into her seat.  There was a time when Emerald found such naivety annoying, but knowing what all the crimsonette had gone through put some perspective on how much of Ruby’s personality was ignorance, and how much was innocence.

The mintette looked over, the little leader looking even smaller as she continued to sulk into the seat beneath her.  Emerald couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the self-pitying scythe-wielder.

“Hey Ruby…” the mintette paused, hesitant at the idea of doing something she'd never done before.

“Would you… wanna get some ice cream?”

* * *

 

The crimsonette cheered as she walked through the marketplace with her frozen treat in hand.  “Emerald, this was the best idea ever!!!”

“Well, I’m sure I’ve had better ideas than this, but this is pretty great.” The mintette admitted while they walked through the marketplace.  “You know, I gotta admit I feel a little stupid for not guessing your ice cream choice right.  I totally thought you’d go for strawberry or something that went with your color scheme.”

“Psh, who color coordinates their food with their wardrobe?  Especially when an ice cream stand has chocolate chip cookie dough!?!”  The crimsonette shouted as her arms flailed with her ice cream cone barely balancing in turn.  “Cookies are like, seventy percent of my nutritional diet!  With chocolate chips finishing off the remaining thirty!”

“You forgot Nora stolen pancakes.”  The mintette informed as the crimsonette giggled at the slight jab while Emerald let a happy sigh escape her.  “I swear, I’m kind of in shock that you haven’t keeled over of a heart attack.”

“Yeah, well I run a lot.”

Crimson orbs rolled at the statement.  “Yeah, that must be it.”

The scythe-wielder scratched the back of her head and let an awkward chuckle escape her as she tried to come up with some form of retort.  None came to her.  So instead she let her hand falter slightly as she turned back to the mintette.

“So… mint chocolate chip… is that your favorite ice cream flavor?”

The illusionist stopped mid bite as the question forced her to pause.  The spoon slowly lowered, until the scoop she had meant to devour simply ended up back in the bowl.  “Actually, I’ve never had ice cream before.”

“WHAT-!!!”

“Careful, Ruby!  You’re going to drop your ice cream.”

The scoop, thankfully, remained poised at the top of the waffle cone as the crimsonette breathed a sigh of relief before she gulped it down in a single ginormous swallow.  She shivered with the sensation as a green eyebrow rose at the antic.  “Is that how you’re supposed to eat ice cream?  I didn’t think they’d give me a spoon if I was just supposed to inhale it.”

N-Na-a-a-a-ahhhh…” the young leader answered through chattering teeth as she hugged her arms tight to her hoping to warm herself up.  “B-b-b-buuut, i-i-t was to-o-o-o-o g-g-good to ris-sk dropping.”

The mintette shook her head as a small smile stretched across her face, “Just the kind of foresight you’d expect from the leader of team RWBY.”

“H-h-hey,” the crimsonette turned as the shivers began to slowly fade.  “Y-ou can’t say I’m not a-always p-prepared.”

Crimson orbs rolled as the mintette used her spoon to dig at the ice cream in her cup.  “Guess you got me on that one.”

The crimsonette let a soft giggle escape her as her eyes wandered around the marketplace before curiosity struck her.  “So, wait, you’ve actually never had ice cream before?”

Slender shoulders shrugged as the mintette devoured her first spoonful of ice cream.  “If I could get food, I went with more substantial things.  And once I got to Beacon… it wasn’t really anything I’d care for.”

“Oh…” was all the crimsonette could answer as she stared at the illusionist with utter intent.  “Well, do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” the mintette admitted as she ruffled the crimsonette’s hair.  “Thanks Ruby.  You didn’t have to pay for it though, I’m the one who recommended we go out.”

“It doesn’t matter Emerald,” the crimsonette spoke softly before beaming her most brilliant smile towards the thief.  “Anything you need I’ll do everything I can to help you with!”

Crimson orbs studied the young woman’s face, noticing the slight pink that glistened in the marketplace lights.  The mintette turned away as she released a sigh.  “If you say so.”

The silver gaze watched her as the illusionist pretended to be too entranced with her ice cream to pay her any mind.  She knew Ruby had a crush on her.

But she didn’t know how to respond to such knowledge.

She was relying heavily on Ruby’s kindness just to stay within the kingdom.  Even Weiss said she was fine with Emerald so long as Ruby trusted her, which shocked the mintette that the heiress said so without even a hint of a threat or, at the very least, passive aggression.  It was largely because of the little scythe-wielder that the ex-villain was able to fight alongside the errant Beacon students to try to stop Salem.

But, she wasn’t sure what to think of the current situation.

Looking back, she wasn’t entirely sure why she had sought out Ruby instead of simply running away from it all.  She could’ve gone to Vacuo and re-established herself there.  The government in Vacuo was more of a formality than an actual justice system, and given her experience as a thief, she was sure she could’ve made it work somehow.

But, then again, that just felt like running backward.

But, did that mean that fighting Salem was her only way forward?

And how did sharing this fight with Ruby affect how she felt about the small scythe-wielder?

Sure, Ruby was strong, dedicated, and every other typical quality you’d expect from a hero.  That wasn’t Emerald’s concern.

What concerned her was what being with Ruby was _like._

Since Emerald showed up, Ruby was definitely acting as the leader to the two fractured teams, giving orders and holding meetings, but that didn't mean Emerald felt like nothing more than a subordinate.  Ruby was more receptive to feedback, advise and ideas of different mission objectives.

It felt more like a partnership.

And then in moments like these, where they were simply hanging out and chatting with each other about random curiosities.  She figured that these were the kinds of activities that friends did.

Did she consider Ruby a friend?  Definitely.

Did she desire a more intimate relationship from Ruby than that?

…

She still couldn’t decide.

She did like Ruby.  The way Ruby could bring people together as a leader, but also bring herself to equal terms with them.  The way Ruby could be hyper-active and optimistic while still understanding the gravity of the situation.

The way that Ruby always put herself last, but pushed herself to be the first of the front lines.

She would be whatever she needed to be in order to be the hero for whoever she met.

Emerald truly appreciated that about Ruby, but she couldn’t decide if a deeper relationship would actually be…

tonk

The plastic spoon collided with the bottom of her ice cream bowl.

“Emerald?  You okay?”

The mintette shook off her reverie as she turned to offer the Beacon leader a soft smile, throwing away her plastic dishes in the nearest trash.  “I’m fine.”

It would be better if they simply remained friends.  Ruby was so innocent, so honest.

And Emerald had too many secrets.

Besides, Emerald knew all the stories and fairy tales.

Even if they decided to form an intimate relationship, destiny would intervene.

And Ruby was all about destiny.

The mintette ducked into the nearest alleyway as the crimsonette nearly tripped to turn around and meet back up with the illusionist.  “Hey, Emerald, wait for me!”

“Come on Ruby, we always go this way to get to the market.  How do you always miss it?”

“Well, maybe because it’s clearly not where the roads lead!”  The crimsonette argued as her arms pointed towards the main thoroughfare in the kingdom.

A sigh escaped the Mistralian thief.  “I told you, the marketplace… it’s not like the rest of the kingdom.  Status and race have less of a bearing there since the people there care more about product and coin.  Which means that if you have either, you better be sure you keep a good eye on it.”

“Oh please, Emerald you’re- huh?!”  The scythe-wielder reached into one of her skirt pockets, then the other as she scrambled to find-

“Looking for this?”

Silver eyes turned to find a black wallet with a rose embellished on the front before rushing over to snatch it.  “Omigosh, what would I do without- wait a second.  Emerald, did you steal this during the Vytal Festival too?”

Crimson orbs rolled as the thief gave the crimsonette a knowing look.  “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Well…” the young leader paused as she let her hands gesture her uncertainty.  “I mean, I did ask, but if you don’t want to answer…”

The illusionist offered a soft chuckle before heading deeper into the alleyway.  “You’re fine Ruby, just be grateful that I’m the one who’s been snatching your wallet.  Not a lot of thieves return what they steal.”

“Hm, yeah, well thanks for keeping an eye on my wallet for me.”

The crimsonette offered a giant smile as the thief tried to hide her soft laughter.  “Sure thing.”

They continued to walk down the dark passages, only lit by the full moon.  The sight made the scythe-wielder’s heart melt.

The moon was complete.

Just like her team.

But the moon didn’t grant enough light to the alleys to feel like any of them were familiar.  Actually, every time she’s left the hotel, with the exception of visiting Haven, she had been with her greatest adversaries former ‘apprentice.’  And, even though Emerald could pass as a huntress with Ruby around, the young leader could tell that the thief preferred not to travel down the main roads.  Ruby always believed it was because of what Emerald had told her about the political structure of the kingdom, however there was another thought that began to dawn on her.

“You sure know your way around the streets here Emerald.”

The mintette shrugged as she continued to instinctively move towards their destination.  “You know what you gotta know in order to survive.”

“Did you spend a lot of time in these alleys?”

There was a silence as the crimsonette continued to follow the illusionist whose lips closed into a tight line.

“I’m sorry, I-”

“Do you really want to know?”

Silver turned to meet crimson, a neutral face painted across the mintette’s face as the leader gave a simple nod.  Emerald stopped and sighed.

“Em-”

“Follow me.”

The mintette turned around and moved the opposite direction in the alley as the cloaked reaper paused before following.  The intersections crissed and crossed, making it difficult for Ruby to tell which direction they were heading, but one thing was clear about their direction.

They were going down.

“Um… Emerald?”

The illusionist paused and tilted her head slightly, but not turning to see the crimsonette.  “Are you sure this is okay?  Uncle Qrow said it’s not safe to go too low down the mountain.”

“Yeah," the soft voice of the mintette mumbled, not bothering to turn around.  "You’re right, you should go home.”

“Huh?”  The crimsonette tried questioning the thief, but the thief didn’t respond.  Instead Emerald chose to continue moving down the maze-like alleyways as the scythe-wielder blanched at being left behind.

“Wah-wait for me Emerald!”

And so they continued their trek, but the further along they went, the more uneasy Ruby couldn’t help but feel.  The first thing the crimsonette noticed was the buildings.  They all looked half-built, or maybe they were half-destroyed.  It was difficult to say, but they all looked like they could collapse at any moment.  The second thing she noticed was that the further they walked, the quieter it got.

The third thing was the feeling that she was being watched.

But Emerald didn’t look too worried, so the young reaper decided she wouldn’t be either.

Eventually they came across an open space, but what surprised the crimsonette most about it was just how open it was.

There weren’t even people to crowd it.

The mintette had continued her journey during Ruby’s pause, breaking away from the young reaper as she moved forward.  The illusionist knew she was leaving the crimsonette behind as she passed the decimated well that once stood in the center of the commons area, heading straight for the collapsed building that lay at the end of it.

She always found herself going back there.

Words tinged the crimonsette’s ears as she looked towards the sound, finding the mintette knelt before the stone and wood fragments as understanding crossed her visage.  She moved towards the former thief, distant enough to allow her friend space if she needed it, but also close enough to provide comfort in case she needed a friend.

“This is where it all began…” the mintette informed, voice even as if she were merely stating a fact.  She rose to her feet to look down at the rubble pile that seemed to resemble the state of her life.  “And also where I began to consider home…”

“Emerald…”

“There were only two kinds of people who lived in this area.  The criminals who kill, loot and steal for a living, and the people who believed they could change the world to give the people here a better life.”  A humorless chuckle escaped the ex-thief as she nudged a wooden plank with her foot.  “And, for some reason, people tend to be more afraid of the latter.”

“I’m not too sure about that.”

A gruff voice interrupted the conversation as three others moved out of intersecting alleyways to surround the two huntresses.  “People seem to be pretty scared of us.”

Crimson orbs stared straight ahead at the speaker while the crimsonette began to look around and assess the situation.  “Uh, Emerald?”

“You know, it’s impolite to enter someone else’s home unannounced.”

The silver gaze turned towards the mintette who kept a relaxed composure.  The thug leader gave a hearty laugh that created the illusion that his snake tattoo was alive and slithering up to his forehead.  “Oh, hasn’t anyone told you?  This is Vera’s territory now.  And you sure as hell ain’t welcome here.”

“Hey-”

“Hm, this is a pretty crummy place to make a territory.”  The mintette deadpanned as she inspected the area.  “They haven’t even bothered repaving this road for at least fifteen years.”

“Will you stop it with the _stupid_ jokes?!”  The gruff voice rumbled as the leader pointed a gun towards the two huntresses.  “Vera wants you _dead!_ ”

“Really?  Aw, and I thought we were just becoming friends.”

“I said to _shut-_ ”

“Hey, Emerald…”

The leader stopped as he noticed the little crimsonette standing behind his intended target, who seemed to be desperately trying to get Emerald’s attention while the thief continued to stare at the newcomer.  “Emerald, what’s-”

“Get ready to fight Ruby.”

Silver eyes blinked, uncertain if she was simply imagining things or if Emerald had actually spoken, either way she poised herself to get Crescent Rose ready.

“Who’s the chick?”

“She's not your concern."

The laugh returned as the mintette kept a heavy gaze on the thug leader.  "Ooooh, protective of her are you?  I'm sure Vera would think of some  _very_ good uses for her."

"Maybe," the mintette deadpanned, focusing on keeping her voice even.  "I mean, she'd probably have better use for her than she does for you.  I mean, seven years in the black market and  _this_ is where she stations you?  Even she knows you're just a waste of her resources."

"Oh really?"  The brunette smirked as he pointed his gun between crimson eyes, "We'll just see where I end up when I bring her you head!"

A shot was fired.  Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and extended it into its full form while Emerald pulled out her weapons, one transforming into a sickle to cut the bullet while the other-

BANG

The man fell to the ground as the mintette ran to attack the other two members who began firing at her while Ruby was frozen in place.  She just continued watching the blood as it began to pool around the man’s head.

_Why didn’t he use his aura?_

The thief continued her attack, a barrage of bullets headed straight for her as she dodged to the side and fired, shooting one of her attackers in the eye.  The other turning to watch their fallen comrade as realization began to settle in before the mintette cut across their stomach, causing them to hold in the wound as they fell to the ground.  Two down, one more-

“EMER-!!!!”

The thief turned around, the final grunt had Ruby suspended in a chokehold as red slowly rippled across the crimsonette and a syringe fell to the ground next to Crescent Rose.

“C’mon now, using aura against us common thieves isn’t fair.  I had to even the odds a little.”

The mintette straightened her posture and lowered her weapons as she waited for the final assailant to finish demands.

“You remember what that drug does right?”  The scoundrel asked while grabbing a pistol from the holster on her hip.  “Get your weapons on the ground, or your girlfriend’s pretty brains get blown out.”

Crimson orbs took in the sight of the crimsonette, choking out towards the mintette as she gasped desperately for what little air she could while tears began to well up in Emerald’s eyes.  She dropped her gaze down as she outstretched her arms with her pistols pointing down.  Slowly, the fingers released the weapons as they floated to the ground, hitting it with a deafening clatter.

“You win.”

A sinister grin crossed the bandit.  “Now that’s a good little-”

AUGH

The crimsonette fell to the ground, choking as the air began rushing into her lungs with the mintette rushing over to tend to her as the assailant fell to the ground with a slit throat.  “Ruby, are you okay?”

“Emer- ah-” a coughing fit interrupted her thoughts as the mintette grabbed Crescent Rose and handed it back to the scythe-wielder.  “Come on,” she tried to help the crimsonette to her feet.  “We need to get out of here.”

“You killed them…”

Emerald averted her gaze before shaking out of the thought.  “They would’ve done the same to us, now come on lets-”

“NO!!!!”

The crimsonette pushed herself away from the thief, stumbling slightly backward as she struggled to regain the last of her strength.  “This isn’t right, Emerald!  You didn’t have to kill them!”

“They were gunna kill me!  They would’ve done worse to _you_!  That’s the way of the world here Ruby, besides, it’s not like I’ve never killed someone before.  Now come on!”

The mintette turned to walk away as the crimsonette stayed behind, one hand grabbing her forearm as her foot meddled with a rock on the ground.

“I thought you wanted to cha-”

BANG

“Ruby?”

Silver orbs stared on blankly while crimson pooled against the leader’s chest as she tried to choke out a message.  “Em… rald?”

“RUBY!!!”

The crimsonette began to fall forwards as the minttete rushed over to hug her.  She gently lowered the scythe wielder to the ground as she rushed to pull out some bandages from her supplies bag and tried to staunch the bleeding.  _What had happened?  Where did that bullet even come from?_

“Well well well, long time no see.”

Crimson orbs turned over her shoulder as she saw a familiar form leap from a rooftop and cursed under her breath.

_Mercury._

“I knew following these little rats would be worthwhile.  You’ve got some bad blood with the black market here you know.”

“Yeah,” the mintette answered as she pushed a cloth down against the crimsonette’s chest to try to staunch the bleeding.  “They didn’t like me introducing tea time to the facility.  The market's full of sticklers like that.”

The silverette offered a chuckle as he took a step forward.  “Yeah, you always knew how to rub people the wrong way.  Not much of a professional skill there.”

Crimson orbs rolled at the statement as the mintette focused on her task of helping the young crimsonette.

“So, I overheard something really interesting lately, wanna hear it.”

“Not really,” the mintette deadpanned as she began to grab bandages from her supplies pouch to wrap around the wound, trying to get it stabilized until she could get help.

The assassin continued to move towards the hunched figure of the dark woman as a smirk grew across his face.  “But I overheard one of those thugs say Ruby was your girlfriend, is that true?”

The mintette leaned the crimsonette against her as she worked to wrap the gauze around the wound as quickly as possible.  “What’s the matter?  Jealous?”

“Nah, I understand,” the silverette answered as he flipped his hair “I don’t have the right color eyes to be… special.”

Dark fingers clutched the cloth tighter as the mintette froze for a moment.  She shook her head softly as she released a breath and continued to bandage the wound on Ruby’s chest.  “Oh don’t worry, you’re plenty _special._ ”

“Aw, that’s so kind of you to say.  You’re not just saying that to spare my feelings are you?”

“Oh no,” the mintette said as she lowered the crimosnette gently on the ground.  “You were too big a pain in the ass for _royal_ to do it justice.”  The illusionist began to rise as her gaze remained on the crimsonette.  “Really puts into context why your father was constantly drunk.  Tell me, how intoxicated was he when he tried to saw off your legs and burned down the house?”

A soft growl could be heard before the silverette shifted it to a hum, and then a chuckle.  “Is that the worst you can do?”

CLICK

“No.”

A green pistol pointed towards the head of the assassin as the mintette stared down the barrel with fatal intent.  “Come any closer, and you’ll see what’s the worst I can do.”

A hearty laugh escaped the silverette.  “That’s just your problem Emerald,” the young man stated as he leaped forward, the thief leaping to attack with her sickles in response.  The green blades slashed horizontally as the assassin rolled to his left before rising up and launching a bullet with the momentum of his kick.  Crimson eyes widened as the bullet straight through her, hitting the building in the distance.

“You were always nothing but talk.”

KABOOM

“Em?!  What was that?!  Are you guys okay?!”

A groan escaped the mintette as she ducked to cover her head from the falling rubble, letting it graze off her aura.  “Don’t worry about that, just get here NOW!!!”

Two shotguns fired as the illusionist turned to see the silverete flying towards her, thrusting his right leg out in a backwards kick.

The mintette dropped the scroll and pulled out one of her weapons, sidestepping the kick and using her chain scythe to wrap around the assassin’s leg, using both hands to propel him towards the wall.  Rocks crumbled around his form as the thief turned to propel the man to the other wall, causing the same effect on the ruined building.   Finally, she hefted him towards the ceiling, letting her scythe release him as he collided with the building’s crumbling roof, the mintette back hand springing out of the proximity for safety as the entire building came down to the ground.

The thief let out a single breath as she landed in a crouch, slowly rising as her gaze remained locked on the building she’d just demolished.

BANG

A small cluster of rocks flew from the rubble as another gunshot was heard, this one producing the arrogant assassin.  “Come now Emerald, is that really the best you can do?”

He kicked up a boulder from the rubble with his left leg before spinning a kick to launch it at the mintette as it shattered upon impact.

Emerald was gone.

The assassin wasn’t too worried however.  He leapt off the rubble heap and moved to be as center as he could in the square.

She couldn’t have gone far.

“Mind games huh?  Well, if that’s the way you wanna do it,” he released a bullet from his boots gun chamber.  Then another.  And another.

He continued to launch bullets into the air, allowing the gunshot noise to take on a life of its own as he painted the sky with a tornado of deadly projectiles.  “You must’ve left the girl in one of these buildings before hiding elsewhere to fight.  That was smart, but she can’t be too far.”  He leisurely moved towards the building next to the ruins that he had just arisen from.  “Now let’s see what’s behind door number one”

A single bullet flew away from the herd to explode against the building causing it to collapse.

“And number two?”

Another explosion, another destroyed building.

“And three?”

BOOM

“Four”

BOOMBOOMBOOM

The silverette began laughing as the bullets continued to shower down on the dilapidated town, starting to fall randomly and destroy the roads, lampposts and anything else unfortunate enough to be within the vicinity.  The destruction went on.

Fifteen.

Sixteen.

“ENOUGH!!!”

The mintette launched forward coming out of nowhere as she spun sideways in mid-air, sickles nothing more than green streaks in the sky as the silverette kicked towards the thief.

She disappeared.

She swung one sickle down on the assassin who blocked it with a kick, before raising his calf to stomp down on the weapon and using it as leverage to launch another kick.  The mintette dropped to the ground and rolled out of the line of fire, sky bullets following her movement as she shot them and summersaulted forward to dodge the others that were after her.  She continued to fire her pistols towards the young man who kicked to block them, more bullets from the whirlwind targeting the mintette as she used her sickles to cut them down.  She rolled forward, using her forward momentum to produce an upwards strike.

The assassin sidestepped to swing a low kick towards the thief’s temple, who used one scythe to block the strike while she fired a pistol towards the silverette.  He dropped to the ground, kicking his legs into a flare as his heels knocked the minette onto her back.  More bullets fell from the sky, heading straight for the helpless warrior.

The thief rolled backward, causing the bullets to explode to the ground before continuing her assault, rushing forward and using her sickles to cut down the bullets that came her way.  She rolled to the left, before doing a backhand rise slash that the silverette ducked out of, turning in time to stand on his hands as he kicked downward towards the mintette who fell at the impact.

And then he felt two scythe blades collide against the back of his head.

The assassin fell forward and rolled, aura flashing in alarm to such a fatal hit as he turned to look to where his ex-companion had fallen.

She slowly faded away.

The real Emerald standing poised, right behind where the assassin had been standing, approached him slowly with a smirk crawling across her face.

“Come on Mercury, is that the best you got?”

The assassin let out a snarl as he used his boot propellers to launch himself at the mintette, barreling towards her as he flipped with his boots facing his target.  The thief back hand sprang away as the assassin released two bullets from his boots, landing to rush the mintette who had just noticed the speed at which the silverette was flying.  She rolled to her left as the assassin skidded to a stop, launching a kick that the mintette blocked with a sickle as she turned to attack with a backhand slash.

The assassin leaned back and offered a low kick to the back of the thief’s calves, causing the mintette to fall.

The assassin smirked as he raised another kick, slamming it down on the thief’s face and using that as leverage to backflip over her falling body and unload two bullets into her abdomen.  Green flashes rippled across Emerald’s body as she collided with the ground, weapons flying from her grasp as she rolled over to try to pick herself back up.

“You’re done.”

The silverette landed in a crouch as the windstorm slowed, guiding every projectile in the air to bombard the mintette.  The exploding sound of executed traitors ringing throughout the air.

…

The explosion never came.

The assassin looked around and noticed that none of the bullets he’d fired into the sky were existent.

A strained laugh came from the collapsed woman who rose as much as she could to meet black eyes.  “Did you really think I’d waste my time trying to attack you head on when I know that you don’t use seeking bullets?  I know that your semblance is wind manipulation.”  The mintette strained as she pushed herself onto her hands.  “What makes you special is nothing more than a load of hot air.”

“Oh yeah?” the assassin asked as he thrusted a kick, releasing an air gust from his boot propeller and spinning in place before thrusting the kick down to release a razor blade of wind.  The minttette rolled to one side, but the gust grazed her, causing a gash to run down her arm from her shoulder and forcing the thief to groan when she got back to a crouch.  “Too bad there’s nothing special about you.  You’re nothing more than a glorified liar.  Have you even told your ‘friends’ what makes you ‘special?’”

The mintette refused to respond, clutching the wound on her upper arm with one hand and steadying herself with the other.

She couldn’t let him look for Ruby again.

“Or maybe you _are_ special.”  The assassin goaded as he walked towards the fallen illusionist.  “I mean, don’t you have some sort of fantastical destiny too?”

Crimson eyes burned as they glared up at the silverette, a snarl etching its way across the mintette’s face.

“Aw, don’t worry, that won’t hit you as badly as _this_.”

BOOM

The shot rang out, shattering the mintette’s head.

Before the mintette disappeared.

Gunfire rang out as the mintette began to open fire on the assassin, Mercury kicking away the bullets before using the propellers to launch himself into the nearest alleyway, the mintette moving slowly to try to follow his movements before hissing at the stinging sensation in her arm.  She had no aura left, but neither did he.

Which meant neither of them could afford a mistake.

The silverette busted out of a building window, readying a downward kick onto the mintette who rolled behind him, causing the assassin to plant his hands down and swing his legs behind him to try and hit the thief.

She leapt over the assault and rolled a short distance away, pointing a pistol towards the assassin who rose to his feet and then laughed.

“What are you fighting so hard for anyway?  It’s not like fighting me here is going to make you a hero.”

“Shut up!”

She began firing at the assassin who flipped backward, releasing a propulsion of wind that knocked the bullets away and forced the mintette to stumble.  He rushed forward and delivered a kick, blocked by twin sickles, but doubled with a wind burst that threw the thief back against a building as she cried at the impact.

“That’s what this is all about isn’t it?  You trying to defy destiny?  You know you’re nothing more than a destined monster!  Even I know of that story!”

“My life’s, not defined by, your damned fairy tales, Mercury.”

“Oh really?  Then why be a thief?  Why be a criminal?  A villain?  It was obviously not your first choice of career.”

The mintette slowly rose to her feet as she fired a bullet at the approaching assassin.

“You’re a destined monster Emerald.  And no matter how great a thief you are,” the assassin paused, walking up to the battered thief.

“You can’t steal yourself a better destiny.”

“Hey, turn this way!  The scroll says they’re this way!”

“Really Emerald, more mind games?”

BANG

A loud grunt escaped the silverette as he stumbled forward before reaching for his now bleeding shoulder and turning to look behind him.

“GET AWAY FROM EMERALD YOU CREEP!!!”

A leather boot collided against the forearm Mercury brought up to block the blow, but the impact still sent him skidding across the gravel pavement.

“Em!  Get Ruby and get out of here!  I’ll handle this!”

“Yang…”

“It’s okay,” the blonde reassured as she gave the mintette a soft smirk.  “I trust you with my sister.”

A pause fell over the area as the blonde poised herself for battle and the faunus ninja rested a hand on the mintette’s good shoulder.  Offering a soft smile and nodding for them to leave the fight to the sun dragon.

“Psh, really?  Emerald’s the last person anyone should trust.”

A flare flew towards the silverette who back hand sprang away and landed in a crouch.

“I’m not in the mood to talk right now,” the blonde informed, before punching her fists together.  “However, these babies have a hell of a lot of catching up they wanna do.”

The brawler gave a cry as she released another bullet towards the assassin who rolled to his right, only to find the blonde rushing towards him poised for a punch.  The young man jumped as her fist thrusted forward and used the arm to launch himself up onto a rooftop.  “Catch me if you can blondie!”

The thief had led Blake to the bottom of the shattered well, pulling their unconscious leader out of the crevice she’d hid her in before returning to the surface and getting Ruby to the bike.  The mintette turned towards the battle to see the assassin had jumped onto the rooftop.

And Yang was giving chase.

“Blake, what is she doing?!”

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine, but we need to get Ruby to a doctor immediately!”

“You take her, I have to stop Yang.”

The ninja tried to call out to stop the mintette, but the illusionist ignored her, running towards the rooftop and using a sickle chain to grapple to the top of the building.  The faunus groaned as she loaded the wounded scythe-wielder onto the bike and got both their helmets on.  Emerald would have to fend for herself.

Ruby’s condition was too critical to leave alone any longer. 

* * *

 

The blonde jumped onto the next rooftop.  She wasn’t sure how many she’d skipped across, she just knew that the punk who attacked Beacon, her sister and her friends was around here somewhere.

She wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

“Well, well,” the soft grumble of Mercury’s voice rang as he stepped towards the blonde.  “Looks like you caught me.”

“You need to stop messing with my friends.”  The low voice growled as red eyes threatened to bleed and take over lavender.

A soft chuckle rang as the silverette shook his head.  “You see, that’s what I mean.  Did Emerald seriously not tell you anything?”

“Qrow said she told him everything that was relevant.  Nothing more needs to be said.”

“Then she told him that _I_ wasn’t the one who was actually tormenting you and your friends?  You’re really too quick to trust.”

The blonde’s eyes turned red as she thrust two bullets behind her to propel herself toward the assassin who gave a smirk to the blonde.

He blocked her oncoming attack with his left boot as the dust from Yang’s blast burnt away at the clothing near the assassin’s ankle and rising up to his calf.

The sight caused red eyes to lavender immediately.

The assassin thrust a bullet through the boot that was still intact with the blonde’s fist, forcing her to reel backward before he delivered another kick to her abdomen, sending her rolling across the rooftop.

The blonde slowly picked herself up as her eyes remained glued to Mercury’s bare calf.  “Did… Did I…”

The silverette tilted his head before looking down to the revealed prosthetic, shaking his head before taking on a thoughtful pose.  “No, no… well… maybe.  Oh, but you know who would have the answer to that?”

A sinister smirk crossed the assassin’s face.  “Emerald.”

“Shut up!”

The blonde scrambled forward to offer a right jab that the silverette sidestepped before grabbing the appendage and twisting it behind the brawler’s back.  “Oh, and you know who would know why Pyrrha mutilated Penny on live television?  Emerald.”

Flames erupted on the rooftop as the assassin leapt away from the inferno blonde who rushed straight for the silverette.  “I said shut up!!!”

“Well, I don’t know how you or Pyrrha would would explain why you brutally assaulted your fellow students.  But I can tell you how Emerald got you to do it.”

The blonde threw a right hook, and then a left, and another punch.  And another.

But none of them hit the smirking assassin who managed to sidestep every attack as he explained, “It’s Emerald’s semblance.  She can make people see, hear, touch, taste, smell anything she wants them to.  She can manipulate their senses into believing that something’s there, even though it’s not real.”  He ducked under one attack to trip the blonde’s legs, forcing her to fall forward as he rose to provide a downward kick against her back.

Yellow flashes sparked across the brawler’s body as she struggled to get up, the silverette continued to pace around her like a bird circling its prey.

“Don’t tell me that nothing suspect has happened since Emerald joined your team.  That you haven’t been seeing or hearing things that weren’t real.  That you didn’t once think that your mind was playing tricks on you.”

The blonde tried to ignore it, tried to deny it, but the words continued to hammer into her head as she tried to repress the evidence in her mid.  The tears began to fall down her cheeks.  She _knew_ she’d heard Emerald’s voice that night.

_So why was Blake in front of her bleeding against a tree?_

The assassin loosed a chuckle, shaking his head as he stood in front of the blonde.  “And you trusted your sister with her.”

A yellow fist grabbed a grey leg as the blonde rose, flinging the assassin around with her momentum before letting him go and firing bullets in the direction he was rolling in.  The assassin quickly got to his feet, trying to outrun the bullets before leaping over the rooftop edge.

Heavy breaths left the blonde as she tried to recover from her fury, but the rage would not abate.

Emerald manipulated her.

“Yang!”

The mintette staggered as quickly as she could toward the blonde.  “Good, you’re… good…  Blake took Ruby… to get her help.”

The thief struggled to catch her breath, watching the blonde who refused to respond, instead the brawler simply turned her head, letting crimson eyes be revealed to the illusionist.

“Is everything-?”

“Just shut up will you.”

Concerned crimson eyes turned towards the blonde who was frozen in place.  "Yang, what’s-”

“I said to shut up!  I don’t want to hear anymore of your lies!”

The mintette took a step back as the blonde began to flare with rage.  “Y-yang, where-”

“Mercury told me about your semblance.  The illusions, the Vytal Festival, Penny.  That was all you, wasn’t it?!”

“Yang, I-I was going to tell you-”

“LIES!!!”

The rooftop exploded from the heat of Yang’s fury as the mintette stumbled back a few steps to escape the heat.  “Yang, I swear-”

“YOU MANIPULATED ME!!!!!”  The blonde cried as she reached out and grabbed the illusionist by the collar.  “What all did you make me believe?!  Is Blake even back?!  Is everything you told my sister a lie?!  Do you even know how she feels about you?!  SHE TRUSTS YOU!!!”

“I know Yang, I swear I wouldn’t hurt her-”

“THEN WHY IS SHE HURT NOW!!!!!”

The blonde flung the mintette down to the ground, walking away from the thief who had groaned, rising to rub the wound the fall had aggravated.

“You need to leave…”

Crimson eyes widened as the illusionist rose to her feet.  “But… what about our agreement?  Qrow said-”

“WELL QROW’S NOT HERE!!! How would I be able to tell if you hadn’t manipulated him too, anyways?!  YOU CAN’T BE TRUSTED!!!!!”

A pause settled across the two as the mintette let the words sink into her skin like a poison.  “But Yang-”

“NO!!!”  The blonde tensed at the voice as she shouted her response.  “I don’t want to hear your excuses!  The entire world thinks I’m a monster because of the duel I had with Mercury.”

Crimson eyes running with tears turned towards the mintette.  “I won’t let you hurt her, the way you tried to destroy me.”

“Yang, please, I’m sor-”

“JUST LEAVE!!!!!”

She fired a flare at the mintette.

And it flew right past where the illusionist was standing.

A soft chuckle escaped the blonde.  Then a hysterical laugh.

Of course, that wasn’t real, Emerald was too injured to catch up to her on the rooftops!

If even those injuries were real.

The laughs continued, humorless and baseless as they slowly warped into sobs with tears streaking down her cheeks.

She had grown to love the reality she was living in.

She should’ve known it was a lie.

Blake coming back and not hating her.  Finding her sister who didn’t hate her.  The team finally getting back together.

She should’ve known it was all a lie.

It was all just too good to be true.


	8. Something Worth Believing In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Aftermath of Autumn is back! I gotta say, this chapter is a bit shorter, but I hope everyone enjoys it nonetheless. I will say, I haven not written, erased, and then rewritten any chapter as much as I have this one, so hopefully if all works out okay. In any case, please read, comment, kudos and enjoy =)

The hotel felt quiet.

It was kinda nice that there wasn’t that banging in his head anymore.

Still though, the silence indicated that he was probably alone.

He released a sigh as he looked out the window, it was dark out but the full moon shone so luminescently throughout the kingdom.

It wasn’t the typical scene he’d wake up to, but that didn’t make it any less beautiful.

He released a sigh as he dared to peak outside of the hallway, squinting as the bright hall lights assaulted his vision while chattering shouts on the lower level assaulted his ears.  He stumbled forward, looking for the source of the shouts as he descended the stairs.

“What do you mean there’s nothing more you can do?!”

“Miss, you need to calm down.”

“How can I?!  You’re a doctor right?  You’re supposed to fix this!”

“Blake?”

Amber eyes turned towards the blond before the faunus ran towards him as the doctor waited by the door.

“Jaune!  You’re awake!”

“Yeah, um…” he tried to look behind the ninja as the woman Blake was just yelling at watched them expectantly.  “Wha-What happened?  Who…”

The faunus shook her head as she glanced to the ground, shame weighing down her gaze.  “It’s Ruby…”

“Wha- but- how?!”

“She and Emerald ran into Mercury,” the faunus explained slowly as she tried to keep a composed demeanor with the blond around.  “Her aura was down and Mercury…”

“No…”

The blonde breathed out the word as he rushed towards the infirmary.  “No no NO!”

He rushed towards the doctor, stumbling through the final paces as he flailed his arms to catch himself in time to face the brunette.  “Where is she?!”

“Mr. Arc-”

“Ruby!  What happened?!”

“Sir please,” the medic tried to calm the young man who pushed past her to wander into the emergency room, pausing to see the mass amount of bandages wrapped around her chest, listening to the soft beeps of the heart monitor as he noticed her arm was wired to a pouch of blood that was used to try to restore life to her.  The blond moved over to her side and fell to his knees as the doctor moved behind him.  “I apologize about your friend-”

“Is she going to be okay?!”

Tears began to fall from blue orbs as the black-themed faunus stepped quietly into the room to listen to the doctor’s explanation.  The woman sighed as she shook her head.  “It’s… a little more complicated than that.”

“It’s a yes or no question.” The faunus deadpanned as her tone failed to soothe out the edge in her voice.  “It deserves a yes or no answer.”

“I suppose if you desire a potentially inaccurate answer than I could provide you with one of those,” the doctor responded as she met the faunus’ eyes.  “However, from what I examined your friend was fatally wounded.  She would’ve bled out in minutes due to the injury.”

“What do you mean?!  She’s still alive right?!”

“She was still breathing when I brought her here so there’s got to be a chance!”

The doctor’s rose colored eyes clashed with amber as the faunus stood her ground in an unspoken battle.  The brunette simply adjusted her glasses as she looked over her clipboard.  “There’s always a chance, and, like I mentioned previously, I said your friend _would’ve_ bled out.  However, it would appear that someone took a desperate measure during this situation.”

“What do you mean?”  The blond asked as amber eyes rolled.

“What does it matter, this should be an easy matter to fix regardless of circumstances!”

“It matters because that’s the very thing that’s harming your friend right now.”

The two Beacon survivors paused as they looked at each other before the faunus dared to speak out.  “What do you mean?”

The doctor narrowed her eyes towards the faunus as she fixed her glasses.  “What all do you know about what happened?”

“I just know that someone used a drug to drain her aura and then she got shot.”  The ravenette deadpanned as she took a defensive position.  “Emerald said she was able to stem the bleeding so that she could get medical attention!”

“And did you ask your friend how she stemmed the bleeding?”

“I… what does that matter?!”  The ravenette deflected as she straightened her posture.

The doctor sighed as she slowly undressed the bandages around the crimsonette’s chest as the two warriors gasped at the sight.

Surrounding the torn and bloodstained corset was skin that was charred and pustering from obvious third and second degree burns.

“Wha-”

“This scar didn’t come from a natural heat source.”

The ravenette dropped her gaze as the realization began to sink in.

“Dust.”

“Precisely.”

The blond looked between the two as he began to feel rather lost.  “So, why is that a bad thing?”  He tried to question, his voice cracking with the strain.  “I mean, Ruby’s still alive right?”

The brunette sighed as she shook her head.  “Your friend is still alive, however I wonder if the effort simply delayed her end than actually saved her from it.”

“Wha- but how?”

Rose eyes turned towards the blond as tears trickled down his cheeks.  “She can’t be dying, is she?”

The doctor lowered her clipboard as she pinched the bridge of her nose.  “In a matter of speaking.”  The brunette turned to look at the crimsonette, assessing her injuries with her gaze as her words illustrated them for the pair.  “You see, the gun shot would have killed her quickly, but because your friend managed to cauterize the wound, she barely survived.  However, there is an issue with the method used for saving your friend.”

Rose eyes turned towards the two as the doctor took a serious tone with them.  “Dust isn’t meant to be a curative, as a matter of fact, it’s highly dangerous to the human body if a person doesn’t have a semblance that allows them to metabolize that kind of material.  With the fire dust within her body, your friend’s blood vessels are slowly burning away from the inside.”

“But her aura should be able to counteract that!”  The ravenette argued as she moved from the door frame to fully face the doctor.  “Aura acts as a defense against all anti-bodies, including dust elements!”

“That _is_ correct,” the doctor admitted as she turned her attention back to the ninja, “however, her aura is severely drained and isn’t regenerating fast enough.  She is barely getting enough aura to keep the dust from completely decimating her body.  It’s nowhere near strong enough to destroy the dust fragments that is circulating within her blood system.”

“Then give her an aura boost!  It shouldn’t be that har-”

“WE DON’T HAVE ANY!!!”

The two students flinched at the shout as the brunette sighed, recomposed herself and adjusted her glasses with the whole of her hand, making it difficult to see her eyes.

“We don’t have any.  You’re right, despite how critical her condition is it would still be an easy fix with the right supplies…”

The hand fell as rose eyes glanced towards the unconscious teenager.  “The problem is, most of what we need comes from Atlas, however, since the incident that occurred in Vale we’ve received very little attention to our pleas for supplies.  There’s no one who is willing to trade with other kingdoms right now and the huntsmen and huntresses that have been sent to try to acquire supplies by foot haven’t returned.”

The ravenette’s jaw unhinged as it tried to determine whether to stay open or shut, before determining a reason to speak.  “But, what about the market?!  I mean, Mistral’s the center of all trade!  How can you not have supplies?”

“Because Mistral produces 80% of the world’s food,” the brunette explained as her voice weighed down with the confession of the words.  “The aura drug isn’t naturally made, but it's something that Atlas managed to develop by taking the regenerative property of aura and condensing it into a liquid form, however they refuse to share how they did it to ensure that we won’t withhold food supplies from them.”

The brunette shook her head as she clutched her clipboard tighter.  “Our world was held together by a very delicate trade peace, however, once the attack on Vale occurred that structure has been broken.  Every kingdom is receding into itself leaving the others to fend for themselves but…”

The rose eyes turned towards the crimsonette as tears misted over them.  “None of us have the capacity to survive on our own.  We’re just going to slowly kill ourselves through our mistrust of others.”

“Ruby…”

Soft tears rolled down the blond’s cheeks as his hands clenched the sheet draped over the unconscious body and the faunus shook her head.  “There has to be something we can do!”

Rose eyes turned to amber, tears evident in the doctor’s eyes as she tried desperately to hold them back.  “I truly wish I could help you.  I’m sorry.”

The young woman left as amber followed her out, helplessness taking over her being as the blond simply stared straight ahead.

“She’s right, isn’t she?”

Amber eyes turned to the reddened blue eyes that shimmered with such pain.  “We’re all going to die, aren’t we?”

“NO!  No, don’t say that!”

The ravenette shouted as tears began to roll down her eyes.  “I didn’t come back just to lose everyone again!”

“But it’s inevitable,” the blond mumbled as he shook his head.  “I mean, Pyrrha, now this…” a soft pause interrupted his thoughts as he looked towards the crimsonette.  “I mean, if she can’t save us, then who will be left to.”

“We’re _not_ that helpless!”  The faunus snarled as she took a step towards the blond.  “We’ll be able to save her and whoever else may need us!”

She knelt down as she turned the blond’s face to stare down her amber tear stained eyes.  “We’re huntsmen and huntresses!  We’re not allowed to give up!”

The blond watched as another tear flowed down the ravenette’s cheek, a bitter chuckle escaped his lips.  “You know, you almost sound like Ruby.”

The faunus shook her head as her hands fell to the ground.  “It’s because you can’t quit.  You can’t quit when you fight for a cause you know you would die for…”  She raised her eyes to turn them towards the crimsonette.  “And she hasn’t quit yet.  Even now as the dust is searing her blood vessels away her aura is healing it.  She’s not giving up.”

The faunus rose as she wiped her eyes to let clear amber stare down blue eyes.  “And neither am I.”

Blue held the amber gaze that hardened over with determination before the young man cleared his vision of the tears to turn to look at the fallen leader.  “Even so I just…”  The man sighed as he clasped his hands in front of him.  “I just don’t know what to do now.”

The faunus rested a firm hand on the broad shoulder.  “We’ll figure it out.  I know we will.”

The blond nodded numbly as he continued to stand watch by the crimsonette’s side while the ravenette let her hand fall.  A beeping sound came from the faunus’ pocket as she stepped away to take the call while the blond continued to stare blankly ahead at… whatever it was that was supposed to be forward.

If moving forward meant moving on without Ruby, than he wasn’t sure what he would do.

Sure, forward was any direction a person was facing, but that didn't necessarily mean it was the right direction.  If it weren't for Ruby, he wouldn't have guessed that Mistral would be the way forward.  He only believed that was the right direction forward because the crimsonette said so.

So, which way would be the right direction once she was gone?

There was the sound of Blake making a response to her scroll before hanging up and talking back to the blond.  “Weiss is on her way, but Emerald and Yang are still missing.  I’m going to try to find them, once we’re all together we can come up with something…”

“For sure…”

The words hung heavy in the air like a spell that would drain the life from anyone who entered the room.  The ravenette sighed as she turned to leave.  “She’s going to be okay Jaune.  We’ll get everyone back here and figure it out, I promise.”

The blond simply hummed in response, not necessarily placing an opinion on what was said.

He knew people died in this profession.

Wouldn’t surprise him if it happened again.

The raventte sighed as she turned to leave.

She needed to find Yang.

Once they were all back together everything would work out.

* * *

 

It was all a lie.

Wasn’t it?

The blonde wasn’t sure anymore as she passed through the streets of Mistral, noticing the sneers and the mumbles that occurred around her as her presence graced the streets.

_Isn’t that the girl who attacked that Haven student?_

_What’s she doing walking around like that?  Why isn’t she in jail?_

_Do you think she had something to do with Vale’s destruction?_

_Of course!  She’s a monster!  Who else would possibly do such a thing?!_

The blonde continued forward, paying no mind to the sneers and taunts that got tossed her way as she roamed the streets.

After all, they weren’t real.

It wasn’t real when she was meditating with Blake and Ren.  It wasn’t real when Blake begged her to go to the marketplace to check out the collector’s edition book stalls that they would have.  It wasn’t real when the bystanders said the same things they did now to antagonize the blonde.  It wasn’t real when Blake pulled her aside and they found a quiet place with a waterfall within the kingdom to talk to each other at.  It wasn’t real when the faunus apologized and she responded with it being okay because she was there.  Because all that mattered was that they were together again.

Yang truly hoped they were together again.

So she walked past it all.  Past all the people and the memories in search of the only place she could find the answers.  As she entered the empty alley that would wind towards their hotel.

She had to find Blake.

“Yang?”

Puffy lavender eyes looked towards the bewildered amber before gazing away.  “Hey Blake.”

The faunus took a few tentative steps forward as she hesitantly approached the blonde.  “What happened?  Is everything okay?”

The blonde shrugged so slightly that the ravenette wasn't sure she had heard her.  She took a few more steps forward, placing herself right in front of the blonde.  “Yang?”

Lavenders eyes peeked upwards as soft tears trailed down the blonde’s cheeks, inciting concern to immediately take over the faunus’ demeanor.  “Yang?!  What happened?  Are you ok-?!”

Soft lips crashed against her own as the faunus felt the cold tears on the blonde’s cheeks brush against her skin, allowing a stray hand to rest upon the metallic one that cradled her cheek.  She allowed herself to succumb to the sensation as she tried to kiss away all the pain she could feel from the blonde’s soul, shedding her own tears from the sheer suffering she could feel from the brawler.

The tears continued to fall as the blonde parted, amber eyes watching as the brawler began to fall to her knees.

“Please…” the brawler pleaded, letting her tears run free as she balled her hands into fists, grasping the faunus' jacket.  “Please tell me this is real.”

“Yang?”

“I can’t lose you again Blake.”  The blonde answered, tears falling as she turned her lavender to the amber gaze.  “Please, tell me this is real.”

The faunus lowered to her knees as she allowed herself to be eye level with the blonde.

She began to wipe the tears away.  “I told you I was back.”

She brushed a strand of blonde hair behind the brawler’s ear.  “I told you that was real.”

She let her hand slide forward to cup the blonde’s chin as she pressed her lips softly against the blonde’s.

“I promise you, this is real to.”

Lavender eyes opened to reveal fresh tears as the blonde wrapped her arms around the faunus to cry into her shoulder.  “Blake, I can’t keep doing this.  I just, I don’t know what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just, you and Mercury and Pyrrha and Penny and Emerald and… and everything!  I just don’t know what to believe anymore!”

Blake rested her arms gingerly around the sobbing woman as she tried to console the distraught blonde.  “It’s okay Yang.  It’s okay.  I’m not going anywhere…”

The ninja gave the strong back of the brawler soft strokes as a thought invaded her mind.  What happened to cause the brawler this much distress?  And where was Emerald in all this?

The blonde began to rise as the ravenette eased out of the embrace to follow, letting a hand linger on the broad shoulder of the brawler who was frantically wiping her tears.  “Yang, do you mind telling me what happened?”

A soft sniffle escaped the blonde as she wiped away a final tear before shrugging her shoulders.  “I don’t know, I mean, I was just fighting off Mercury, but then…”

The tears came back as sobs wracked the blonde’s body.  “But then, Emerald’s semblance.  And his leg was fake, and what if that was my fault!”

Tears continued to fall as the blonde hid her face in the palms of her hands.  “They’re all right, aren’t they?  I really am a monster!  I really deserved this after what I did to him!  It’s all my fault!”

“Yang, no!”  The faunus gripped each of the blonde’s shoulders as she directed the lavender gaze into her eyes.  “Don’t let anyone convince you of that!  They don’t know, they weren’t there!  You are not a monster and whatever happened to Mercury wasn’t your fault!”

“But how can you say that!”  The blonde shouted as she rose to her feet.  “You don’t know either!  I could’ve injured him so badly his leg had to be amputated!  Blake, what if I really _did_ dismember him?!”

“You didn’t!”

The ravenette rose, placing a hand on the blonde’s cheek as she allowed her thumb to brush away the stray tears.  “Yang, I know I wasn’t sure what to believe in that moment, but…”  A soft sigh escaped the faunus as she locked her gaze with lavender.  “But I decided to believe in you.  And I still believe in you.  No matter what else happens, I will always believe in you.”

A flesh hand rested upon the soft hand of the faunus as fresh tears sprang to lavender eyes.  “Blake?”

The faunus let her fingers curl slightly to allow the blonde’s a chance to encircle her hand.  “It’s what partners are for.”

Lavender eyes glanced at the soft smile before needing to turn away, hand falling to her side as she dropped her gaze somewhere beyond it.  “You’ll change your mind on that after you hear what happened.”

The hand returned to her side as her smile faltered slightly before she offered a small shrug.  “Try me.”

The blonde looked hesitantly at the faunus who returned the reassuring smile back on her face.  The brawler sighed as she shook her head, dropping her gaze to her feet.  “I drove Emerald away.”

Confusion riddled the ravenette’s face as she tried to reason with the blonde’s action.  “What- Why would you do that?”

“It’s her semblance.  I mean…” the blonde inhaled unevenly as she let her exhale leave her just as shakily.  “She, she can create illusions so that things can appear real when they’re not.  She did it to me and Pyrrha during the Vytal Festival and…”

The blonde grabbed her metallic appendage as she turned her gaze to the side.  “She did it again the same day we ran into you..."

A pause settled between them as tears began to spring from the blonde as she let watery lavender gaze back to the amber.  “I thought I killed you, I mean I…"  The blonde let a breath escape her as she tried to finish her story, feeling the hopelessness begin to settle in again.  “I fired a shot, and then you were bleeding, and then you were gone.”

The tears fell as she turned her gaze back to the faunus.  “That was the moment I knew you wouldn’t come back because I had become a monster.”

“Yang-”

“When I learned that, I thought this was all a lie.”  The blonde scoffed with a humorless chuckle as her grip tightened around her metallic elbow.  “I was willing to give anything to have you back.  Even give my trust to Emerald.”

The sobs began to intensify as the blonde turned to gaze at amber eyes.  “And now I’ve just driven Emerald away because I don’t know how to control myself.”

“Yang…”

The faunus stepped forward slowly before wrapping her arms around the blonde’s shoulders.  “Yang, it’s okay.  We can fix this.  It’s never too late to make things right.”  The faunus squeezed slightly as she tried to convey her reassurance in every way possible.  “You forgave me when I was certain you wouldn’t.”

“Of course, Blake.”  The blonde responded with no hesitation.  “I- I need you.  I’d give up anything and everything to keep you in my life.  I can’t-”

“I’m not going anywhere.  I can’t lose you either.”

The faunus broke the embrace as she moved slightly away from the blonde.  “But now isn’t the time to be worrying about these things.”

“What do you mean?”

The ravenette sighed as she allowed one of her hands to grab her elbow.  “It’s Ruby.”

Lavender eyes widened as the blonde gripped the faunus’ shoulders.  “What happened?!  Where is she?!”

“Yang, she- she’s in the emergency room at the hotel hospice.”

“But, she’s okay right?”  The blonde asked as fear began to light up her eyes.  “I mean, she’s gunna be okay, right?!”

The faunus sighed as amber gazed off to the pavement on her right.  “She’s still alive Yang, but her condition is critical.  Emerald used a flame dust crystal to seal her wound, but her aura isn’t regenerating fast enough to keep the dust in her bloodstream from doing internal damage.”

“Then tell them to use-!”

“They don’t have any.”

The blonde’s face fell as she began to mumble hysterics.  “No…  This, this can’t be…  This isn’t happening!”

“Yang!"

But the blonde didn't listen, she pushed past the ravenette as she ran towards the hotel.

She couldn't accept that this was happening.

The last time she chose between Blake and her sister, they both ended up abandoning her.

She couldn't be alone again.

* * *

 

The blond was alone.

Blue eyes stared at the wall before him as his hands continued to grip and release the sheet that was draped over the crimsonette.

Things weren’t supposed to end like this.

They were going to go to Mistral.  They were going to fight the bad guys.  They were going to avenge Pyrrha.

They were going to make sure that those villains couldn’t hurt anyone else.

The blond shook his head.  He had lost sight of that vision.  Had lost hope.  He was just some guy who had cheated his way into a prestigious combat academy.

He had no reason to believe he could be a hero.

But Pyrrha believed he could be.

Ruby believed he could be.

His team believed he could be.

But why?

Pyrrha knew he cheated on his entrance exam.

Ruby knew he was a failure.

His teammates knew he was a terrible fighter.

So why did they continue to believe in him when there was no reason to?

And why did it feel like he was the _only_ person who didn’t believe in him?

The blond scoffed as he shook his head towards the sheets.

It’s because he knew he didn’t deserve the faith everyone had put in him.

Nothing had changed.

He wasn’t just the loveable idiot stuck in the tree while his friends fought for their lives.

He was now the disgraceful idiot who was sleeping off a hangover while his friends fought for their lives.

He gripped the sheet as tears began to roll down his eyes.  He should’ve been able to do something!  He should’ve been able to help his friends… somehow.

If he was a real hero, he would’ve been able to.

But he wasn’t a real hero.

Ruby was.

Ruby was the one who inspired them to continue the fight, to travel to Mistral, to believe that something better was out there.

What if she dies too?

 _No!_   The blond’s thought echoed in his mind as he gripped the sheets tighter.

 _Ruby can’t die_.

The blond turned to face the crimsonette, soft beeps from a monitor informing she was still alive, still fighting.

_You’re not allowed to die._

The blond turned his face back to his hands as he allowed the tears to fall, gripping the sheets tightly before tossing them away and rising to his feet.

“I’M NOT GONNA LET YOU DIE!!!”

Silence took over as his hands reached out for his friend who he desired to take back from death’s grip, unleashing a white energy that caused the crimsonette to glow red as she began to whimper under his power.

“Em… rald…”

“Ruby!”

The blond moved to rush to her side, before stopping himself, not daring to remove his hands from over the crimsonette lest whatever he was doing to help her would be disrupted.  “Hold on Ruby!  You’re going to be okay!”

More whimpers came from the warrior, rolling her head around as she groaned.  “Don’t go… Emerald…”

“Ruby!  Stay with me!  You’re gonna be okay!”

But the crimsonette didn’t hear, lolling her head to the side as she mumbled out with what little breath she had left.

“Please… don’t go…”


	9. The Meaning of Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Typing this up I began wondering if I should've just combined this chapter with the last one, but oh well. In any case, this is the second to last chapter of Aftermath! The final chapter will be uploaded in three weeks time, so look forward to it. Well, as always, read, comment, kudos and enjoy!

She had to leave.

She didn’t know where she would go, or what she would do, but why she had to leave was pretty clear.

She was done with all this bullshit.

She was done with heroes, and villains, and destiny, and fighting, and redemption, and everything else that was going on in the world!

She grimaced as she felt around her knapsack, finding nothing more than a half-used flame dust crystal.  She chucked it across the dilapidated floor as it rolled across the barren concrete before falling into a crevice.  It’s not like she was going to need it.

Besides, there wasn't much left of it anyway.

She grabbed one of her weapons and flipped the blade so that it just popped out of the hilt in a switchblade-like manner as she cut the long strands from her white collar, cursing herself for choosing to assist the Beacon survivors for as long as she did.  They caused her to do such stupid things.

Like, using all her bandages to help a certain crimsonette avoid certain death.

Or taking a bullet to the forearm by an enraged blonde.

The mintette winced slightly as she tugged harshly on the bandage she wrapped around her forearm, continuing to berate herself for following the blonde.  Why did she bother manipulating Yang again instead of letting the blonde see her take the bullet?

The makeshift bandage fell from her teeth as she stared at the hole that the fire crystal fell down.

_I thought you wanted to cha-_

She did.

At least, she had hoped she _could_.

But she wasn’t sure how to change when the world around her simply… stayed the same.

Vera still wanted her dead, which, in all honesty, wasn’t surprising.  Vera wanted every beggar begging for her, whether it be begging for money to take back to the underground empress or begging for her mercy as she slaughtered those in her way.  Emerald swore she wouldn’t sell herself to some self-absorbed hoodlum on the street.  She swore she’d make it work somehow.

Of course, then she left with Cinder.

That was slightly different though.  _Cinder_ was different.

She was obviously attentive being able to tell Emerald’s semblance from afar.  Even Vera hadn’t figured out her semblance despite all the many spies she constantly had on her ass.

Cinder was also very knowing.

Vera only cared to know about where to find the best riches.

But Cinder knew the depth of the hidden mysteries that humanity had long buried away in an effort to hide the follies of their past.

_You have red eyes._

The words echoed in her head, reverberating in the voices of Qrow, Salem, Cinder, Ruby.

Repeating in her own voice.

She just wanted to know where that all came from!  Who decided the fate of those who were black, who were faunus, who had red eyes?

Who decides who is destined a hero?

And who decides who does the hero have to vanquish in order to fulfill that role?

That was the problem with having a history that was nothing more than fairy tales.  They say that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but those who follow the tropes of a fantasized history are _encouraged_ to repeat it.  They create random attributes that work for a hero and a villain and try to condition them into their mold so that they can be part of a story that will last for lifetimes.

No matter how many lifetimes are cut short for the making of the story.

The mintette grabbed the other sleeve to her long collar, tearing it to bandage the graze on her upper arm.  Her aura should kick in shortly, and then she can be off.

Off to live in a world without destiny.

Off to finally live a life of freedom.

…

Wherever that may be.

“So, this is where you’ve been hiding.”

The thief groaned as she finished tying the bandage on her opposite arm, ensuring it was in place before making a retort.  “What do you care what I do?  Didn’t Yang tell you, I’m not your problem anymore.”

“I haven’t spoken to Yang recently, Blake told me you were still missing and I got your distress signal as soon as I returned to the kingdom’s walls, which means helping you is my first priority.”  The silverette stated matter-of-factly, walking into the full glow of moonlight that poured in through the missing ceiling.  “Of course, if you have time to play hide-and-go-seek, I’ll assume that the danger has passed.”

“Why don’t you ask Blake?”  The dark woman spat as she shifted slightly in her spot.  “She probably knows more of what’s going on than I do.  Besides, I’m not going back.”

The heiress huffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance at the mintette’s defiance.  “And pray tell why not?”

“Because this whole idea was stupid!”  The thief retorted, glaring red eyes towards the snarky ice princess.  “It was stupid of me to think I could be forgiven for what I’ve done, and it’s stupid of me to think I can actually make a difference.”

A short pause settled between them as the heiress' gaze hardened towards the mintette.

“So… that’s it?”

The silverette slowly walked forward, allowing each step to punctuate her words.  “You’re just going to… what?  Accept this as fate?  Give up fighting for something better?  Let the world dictate for you your every move, every thought, just because you don’t think it’s worth the effort?”

“Well what do you know!”  The mintette shouted, rising to her feet.  “You don’t know anything!”

“I know that when Vacuo was ‘discovered’ the ‘natives’ who were all identified as black or ‘non-white’ variants were seen as ‘inferior’ because they didn’t have ‘proper civilizations’ set up, nor did they understand the treasure load of dust they’d stumbled upon.  Therefore, in an attempt to ‘educate the savages to the proper way’ they brought the citizens of the desert by the thousands to Mistral and put them to work, claiming that because the people survived the harsh conditions of the desert, they developed an ‘immunity to the cruelest of elements’ which led to the abuses of slavery that are still seen in modern day sharecropping.”

A pause settled between them as the heiress slowly regained her breath from all the information she explicated to the mintette.  Red eyes blinked a few times to fully register what had been stated before rolling in indifference.  “Okay, so you know more than I thought.”

The silverette sighed as the mintette averted her gaze.  “You learn a lot about exploited populations when you live in a world where it’s peace is dependent on an intricate trade system that you _happen_ to be an inheritor of.”  The silverette stated as she moved to sit next to the thief who tried to close herself off further.  “Of course, there’s a difference between knowing about the condition of the world, and actually working to do something about it.”

“And what,  _pray tell_ , is there to do?”  The mintette asked, venom dripping into her voice as it became worn down with the weight of the world she’d spent so long fighting in.  “No one bothers to change the system.  Instead, we cling to a fragile peace that only guarantees the privileged few any real freedom at the cost of the lives of others.  No one wants to sacrifice _their_ peace for the peace of others.”

Blue eyes widened before turning towards the thief.  “That’s why you joined forces with Cinder, isn’t it?”

Red eyes turned to give the silverette an unamused look as her voice dripped with sarcasm.  “Oh, I’m sorry, did I not make my motivations clear enough for you?”

“What are you, crazy?!”  The heiress shouted, rising to her feet.  “You really think that throwing the entire world into chaos is going to get anyone anywhere?!”

“Yeah, like running away from it all to be a huntress is a better idea?!”  The mintette shouted, following the silverette up before looking down at her.  “Huntsmen and huntresses don’t actually care about people!  Do you see any of them fighting for the faunus in the mines or the croppers in the field?  They just fight the monsters on the outskirts of the kingdoms while allowing the political structure to slowly kill everyone so that the Grimm will never have to!”

“And being a villain will somehow change things?!”  The silverette shouted back, trying hard to force herself to look taller.  “If you kill enough people they will begin to listen to you?  Is death all that matters to you?!”

“YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT DEATH!!!  IT’S THE BLOOD OF THE OPPRESSED THAT YOUR KINGDOMS FEAST ON!!!”

The silverette faltered slightly, taking a step back as she worked to recollect herself.  “Well- I mean- I…”

The retort fell short.  She honestly didn’t know how to respond to a statement that was usually so censored as it became so bare.

“You can’t change the world from the top of a tower so high that you can’t see the ground.”  The mintette stated, keeping her gaze hardened, determination ebbing from her body.  “If everyone was brought down to ground level, made to understand the true suffering their system had in place, then no one would want to keep it that way.”

“Did you really think that would work?”  The heiress asked, voice weighed down with more curiosity than prejudice.  “Even if you take out all the kingdoms, people won’t change because they realize the kingdoms are corrupt, instead they’ll simply become more violent as they look for anyone to blame for their lost way of life.  It wouldn’t bring about true peace, it would simply create a different reason for violence.”

“If that’s the case…”  the mintette stated, leaning back against the wall as she slowly slid down.  “Then this all is truly pointless.”

The thief slid until she was seated, letting her red eyes wander the ceiling.

“It’s too late to change.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘too late.’”

Red eyes glared at the heiress as the thief offered a growl.  “What do you mean by that?  This whole world is complacent with the system in place without a care as to how it affects the people who actually have to live in it.”

“Well then instead of worrying about the whole world, think about _you_.”  The silverette responded, hands on her hips as she looked down at the thief.  “You could still be with Cinder, still be attacking people, but you left that behind.”

A soft scoff escaped the dark woman as she stared straight ahead.  “I haven’t changed.  Even ask your leader.  I just killed four people this evening.”

“I can’t talk to Ruby,” the heiress deadpanned as she moved to cross her arms.  “She’s in a coma.  Her aura isn’t regenerating.”

“Well then use-”

“No one has any!”  The heiress shouted, pausing at the realization that she let her irritation overtake her reason.  She took a deep breath to compose herself before returning her gaze to the mintette.  “No one is willing to trade at this time.  Mistral has no medical supplies.”

“Then go raid the black market or something!”  The mintette shouted as she rose to her feet.  “Honestly, why should I care!”

“This isn’t about whether you should or shouldn’t care!”  The silverette shouted as the mintette turned her back on the heiress.  “It’s about whether you do or don't care!  I can understand why you may not care about the kingdoms, and I can also understand why you might not think too highly about the world, but do you really not care about Ruby?!  She's in the hotel infirmary about to die right now Emerald!  Are you really going to sit there and tell me that you don't ca-”

"Of course I care!!!”

The mintette shouted, the words echoing off the hollow walls as a soft rumble came from within the building.  The structure began to shake slightly as the silverette half worried that the building would collapse from the words.  Instead, the mintette collapsed, grasping her head tightly as she desperately fought to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

“Of course, I care Weiss.  Of course, I care that Ruby is hurt.  Of course, I care that Yang is mad at me.  Of course I care that my involvement in Beacon is now hurting everyone because I thought I could force things to be different.”  The mintette shook her head as she continued to stare at the ground.  “I just… I don’t know why I care though.”

“Caring’s not something that comes with a reason Emerald.”  The heiress said with a soft smile.  “It’s just something you do.”

The mintette groaned as she leaned against the nearest wall to slide back down to a seated position.  “Ugh, why does this have to be so ridiculous!”

“What makes all this ridiculous is that you haven’t come back to the hotel.”  The heiress said as she sighed to slide down and follow the thief.  “What’s keeping you away?”

“Uh, did you not hear the part that Yang told me not to come back?  Also, Ruby’s not too happy with me either after what happened so I may as well just take Yang’s word for it that no one’s gonna want me back.”

“If you weren’t wanted back,” the heiress stated, ensuring she garnered the mintette’s full attention.  “I wouldn’t be here.”

The mintette sighed as blood red dropped to the floor.  “You don’t know what I did to Yang.”

“You’re right,” the heiress readily admitted.  “But that was before.”

The mintette sighed.  “Not completely, I mean, I used my semblance on her not too long ago.”

“I trust that you wouldn’t have done so without good reason.”

A soft scoff escaped the mintette.  “Trust huh?  You don’t even know what my semblance is.”

“True,” the silverette admitted with a tilt of her head.  “However, I’m not going to decide whether you deserve to be part of the team because of something I don’t have the full story on.  I already made that mistake once.”

The blood eyes stared forward, watching memories run across the broken floor.  “Ruby will never forgive me for killing those people.”

“Ruby... she has a different view of the world.  I mean…  People die.  And sometimes, it’s because of… us…”  Silver hair shook as the heiress clenched her eyes shut, trying to shut out the thoughts that plagued her mind since they shadowed Oobleck on their first mission.  “I don’t know if she ever learned about how many faunus died in the tunnels from Mountain Glen.  None of us can claim innocence anymore.”

The mintette offered a half-hearted shrug.  “It’s the world we live in.”

"But it doesn't have to be."

Red eyes gazed into determined blue orbs, trying to ascertain how the silverette could be so certain that the future could be different before eventually sighing in defeat.

She really wanted to believe that things could be different.

She just didn't know how.

“Emerald?”

Red eyes turned towards the small voice that echoed throughout the empty room, the thief rising slowly as a smirk crossed her face.  “Hey Ruby, wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.”

“Emerald, what are you doing here?”

The mintette dusted off her chaps as she rose, sauntering slowly towards the young leader and shrugging slightly.  “Just hanging around, really nothing special.”  Red eyes took on a dangerous glint as she stared down the silver in front of her.  “What are you doing here?”

“I..” the crimsonette stuttered as she stumbled slightly back before realizing that there was a giant hole in the floor behind her.  “I was looking for you.”

A sinister laugh escaped the thief, rising her head to the sky before snapping it back with the face of a Beowolf.

“You’ll regret that.”

The Grimm woman lunged towards the crimsonette who reached for Crescent Rose and-

Crescent Rose wasn’t there.

Panic began to settle in as the scythe-wielder brought her arms up to block the attack, hearing weapons unfurling behind her-

SHING

The Beowolf/human hybrid collapsed to the ground as the mintette stood in front of the crimsonette with both sickles at her sides and her back turned towards the crimsonette as words seemed to echo off the walls.

_If I told you I saw something dark with red eyes, what would you think?_

“Emerald?”

_They said a single look from one of those silver eyed warriors would strike a Grimm down._

Red eyes turned towards her with tears in them.

“Goodbye Ruby.”

“Emerald wha- ah-“

A silver spark flashed in front of her as the crimsonette brought a hand over her eyes, blinking out to see Emerald frozen in a coat of silver as she began to fade away in the same color as the huntress’ eyes.  The crimsonette rushed forward, tears filling silver as she reached out to the mintette with a cry.

“Emerald!  NO!”

_It’s not like I’ve never killed anyone before._

“EMERALD!!!”

The silver dust that was left of her friend breezed through her fingers as the walls faded away and the crimsonette wandered in utter darkness, feeling her head spin as it slowly spun towards the broken, bloodstained streets that they had just left.  The scythe-wielder took a tentative step forward before feeling a strong arm wrap around her neck.

"Put your weapons on the ground or I'll blow your girlfriends brains out!"

Silver eyes searched ahead, finding the mintette standing before them, tears in red eyes as she dropped her weapons on the ground.  Red eyes turned towards her, ignoring the man with the snake tattoo that was encroaching from behind her in the shadows.  The crimsonette flailed to try to get a warning out, but the arm around her was too tight.  A soft smile stretched across the mintette’s face as the tears remained painted on her face with a gun cocking behind her.

“You said you wanted me to change.”

BOOM

“EMERALD!!!”

The crimsonette screamed, bolting forward as strong hands moved to push her back down.

“Ruby, don’t move!  You’re going to worsen your wound!”

“Jaune?”

“You’re going to be okay Ruby!”  The young man shouted as he moved his hands back over her wound as they glowed white.

“Jaune… what?”

“It’s all going to be okay.”

“No Jaune…”  The crimsonette mumbled as she tried to pick herself up again.  “What… happened?”

“You mean you don’t remember?”  The blonde asked as he moved a hand to gently guide her back down.  “Ruby, stay still.”

The cimsonnette shook her head as she tried to swat the hand away.  “I remember… we were attacked…”

“Mercury attacked you.”

“Mer…cury?  No, he wasn’t… there…”

“What?  What do you mean he wasn’t there?  Then who attacked you?”

“I don’t know!”  The crimsonette cried as she tried to rise again, only to be stopped with another admonishment causing her to groan at the concerned blonde.  “You’re worse than Yang.”

“I’m sure your sister will be glad to hear that.”

Silver eyes rolled before grimacing as she began to more noticeably feel the knitting of skin that was slowly stitching itself back together with a hyper advanced aura.  Finally realizing the importance of remaining still she tried to explain what had happened without swatting away the hands that were causing her skin to feel aflame.  “There were… black market… thugs… they attacked but… Emerald…”

The crimsonette went silent as she remembered the bloodstained streets that surrounded them as she began to admonish the mintette.  The pause lasted for what felt like a lifetime as the blonde continued to release his aura to mend the wound as it finally began to clear up.  “Okay, I think you’re good to come up now.”

The crimsonette winced slightly, the wound feeling incredibly tender from the forced healing.  She began to rise from her spot, easing into the new position as she averted her gaze.

“She killed them.”

“What?”

“The bandits…” the cimsonette mumbled as her gaze remained locked on some faraway place.  “She killed them all.”

Blue eyes averted as the blonde dropped an ‘oh’ before returning back to the question.  “But they didn’t do this to you, did they?”

“No…” the soft mumble came with a soft shake of the head as the young leader continued to avert her gaze.  “I don’t know what happened.  I mean, one of them used something to drain my aura, but…”

The crimsonette sighed before daring to peak at the sky blue eyes that sat in front of her.  “Where is she?  Is Emerald here?”

The young knight lowered his gaze as he shook his head.  “She hasn’t been heard from since Mercury’s attack.”

“What!  Why aren’t you-”

The knight rose quickly as the crimsonette began to stumble off the bed.  “Ruby!  Calm down!  You still need your rest!”

“How can you say that!  She’s still out there!  What about-!”

“Ruby!”  The blonde shouted as he fought to keep her from running out of the infirmary.  “Everyone is out looking for her and Yang!  They’re going to be okay!  You just need to stay here and rest!”

“But what if she’s hurt?!”  The crimsonette wailed as her arms flailed to try to escape the knight's strong hold.  “What if she got taken?!  What if she got killed?!”  Soft tears began to well in silver eyes as the blonde continued to hold her close.

“What if she runs away because she hates me?”

The blonde shook his head as he continued to hold the distraught scythe-wielder in his arms.  “That’s impossible Ruby.  No one could hate you.”

“But…” the crimsonette lolled her head to the side as her soft mumbles tumbled out.  “I yelled at her.  I mean, she killed them all, and I know she saved me but…”  The tears continued to run down the young leader’s cheeks as she began to hug the arms that encased her.

“I just don’t want anyone to die anymore Jaune!”

“I know Ruby.”  The blonde spoke softly as his own tears trailed down his cheeks.  “I know.”

The crimsonette sniffed softly, letting herself be held by her first friend as she fretted over the outcome of a battle she wasn't even conscious for.  She slightly grabbed the knight’s arms around her, grateful for the constant support that always seemed to emanate from the blonde.  “I'm glad you're here Jaune.  You’re always there when I need someone.”

A humorless laugh escaped the blonde as he slowly let go.  “That’s such a bad joke Ruby.  I mean, look at you.  If I were truly someone you could rely on, this never would have happened.”

The crimsonette shook her head, letting a heartbroken smile cross her lips.  “I know you’re the only reason I’m doing better now Jaune.”

Blue eyes averted as the blonde slowly began to rise.  “Someone else could’ve helped you just as much.”

“That’s not true!”  The crimsonette announced as she rose cringingly to her feet.  “If they could’ve done as much, they would be here, but they couldn’t do what you just did!  That’s what makes you special.”

“Right,” the blonde stated in a bitter tone.  “Because dumb luck and desperation is totally what makes me special.”

“Dumb luck and desperation is how everyone finds their semblance Jaune.”  The crimsonette retorted before releasing a sigh.  “Jaune, what makes you special is what makes you different, but you can’t find out what makes you special if you don’t believe you can make a difference.”

The blonde sighed as he dropped into a chair nearby, staring at his hands.  “If I could make a difference, Pyrrha would still be here.”

The scythe-wielder’s face fell as she stepped towards the blonde.  “Jaune…”

“I’m sorry, I mean, it’s so stupid.  But maybe if I had my semblance she wouldn’t have gone off alone.  She would’ve let me come so that I could save her if she got hurt, or I could’ve gone after her to save her, or-”

“Jaune,” the soft voice called as a shaky smile spread across her face with tears staining silver.  “I wasn’t fast enough either you know.”

The tears began to fall as the blonde engulfed his friend in a hug.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have brought that up-”

“Don’t you dare think you can’t make a difference Jaune.”  The crimsonette demanded as she cried into his shoulder.  “Pyrrha would never forgive you if you thought that little of yourself.”

“I know Ruby, I just can’t help it sometimes, but I’m trying.”  The blonde promised as his tears ran into her hair.  “I’m trying to get better.”

“Me too…” the crimsonette spoke softly as she moved closer to the hug of the first friend she’d made on her journey as a huntress.  "We'll get there Jaune.  we'll make things right."

Blue eyes looked forwards as he held his friend closer, remembering the promises he'd made to Pyrrha as Beacon was falling.  He held his friend tighter as he prayed that this wouldn't simply be a repetition of that day.

"I hope so Ruby."  The soft voice came as he closed his eyes and willed the bad memories away.  "I truly hope so."


	10. The Pursuit of Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I didn't think I'd ever finish this fic! I just want to say thank you to everyone who continued to stick with this fic, even when I wasn't updating for a while. I'm super grateful for fall the support this has gotten, I mean over 50 kudos and almost 2000 hits is just so fantastic, and I thank all of you for your support. Anyways, without further adieu, here is the final chapter of Aftermath of Autumn. Please feel free to comment and kudos =)

It was all over.

Things were better now...

Well, kind of.

Ruby had woken up and was no longer in critical condition, which was good, but Emerald still hadn’t come back home yet and Weiss hadn’t been heard from in a bit, but it hadn’t been long enough to really arouse worry from them.  Mercury had disappeared somewhere in the moonlight, Jaune learned his semblance, Nora and Ren were still investigating the missing huntsmen and huntresses-

It wasn’t over.

It would never be over.

Wherever they ran to, the destruction would be there.  And with it would be memories of how they failed.  And the fear of failing again.  And the long, thankless trek to wherever they had to be next after they mourned their losses and tried to keep hope alight.

It would never be over.

But at least right now, there was a pause in the chaos.  A moment of peace.  A moment of silence.

A moment that was driving the faunus crazy.

She sat stone still as her mind was screaming at her, the sound of cannonballs exploding in her head.  Seriously, she was sitting next to Yang Xiao Long.  _Yang Xiao Long!_   Things were _never_ supposed to be silent when Yang was around!  She was loud, opinionated, blunt, brash, attention-seeking, and everything else that _wasn’t_ silent.

How could this have happened to Yang?

Silence settled in the ravenette’s mind as the thoughts finally began to die down, losing the energy to sustain themselves within the faunus’ cortex.

She was tired.

And weary.

And so done with all the fighting and destruction and violence in the world.

The ravenette turned to the blonde sitting next to her.  She must have felt that way too.

The faunus just needed to let the adrenaline die before the answer was clear.

She let a sigh escape her, officially ending the silence.  “You doing okay Yang?.”

“Mmm.”

The indifferent hum hollowly rang through the hallway, as if a voice could have a ghost of its own.

“Things will work out Yang.  I promise, Weiss will get her soon and…”

And what?  They would go back to fighting for their lives as the kingdom of Mistral hung in the balance?  The ravenette sighed as she shook her head, trying as hard to convince herself as she was the blonde.

“Everything’ll be okay.”

Lavender eyes turned wearily to the faunus before turning her gaze back to the floor in front of her.  “You know as well as I do that that’s a lie.”

Amber eyes peeked wearily towards the blonde.  “Yang-”

“You saw her face as well as I did Blake.”  The blonde said softly as her gaze continued to stare off into nothingness.  “She’s not going to forgive me this time.  Not after this.”

The ravenette let her gaze drop.  As soon as they ran into the infirmary their leader had asked for Emerald, where they explained everything, her semblance, the Vytal Festival,

Penny.

Jaune walked out upset with the entire endeavor, but Ruby-

She was heartbroken.

The ravenette shook the thoughts out of her head.  Regardless of what may have happened, the crimosnette wouldn't let it keep her down forever.  “You know she's not going to blame you Yang.  You know she'll eventually understand.”

The blonde chuckled humorlessly as she shook her head.  “You know, I’m not sure if I care anymore.”

“But, Yang-”

“I’m so tired of all this Blake,” the blonde stated, voice close to cracking as tears threatened to streak down her cheeks.  “I’m tired of the mistakes, the lies, the losses.  I’m tired of _everything_ Blake!”

The blonde threw her face into her hands as she shook her head vigorously.  “I just want things to be okay again Blake, but I keep fucking things up!”

“Yang-“

“I should just stop fighting,” the blonde stated as she shook her head.  “I wouldn’t have fucked things up so badly if I had just stayed here.”

“If you had just stayed here,” the ravenette stated placing a hand on the metallic appendage that rested beside her.  “I wouldn’t have found you again.”

Lavender eyes glanced towards the hand that rested on her own, face remaining blank at the sight of it.  “Blake.”

“Yang, running away from the battle was my greatest regret.  I should’ve kept fighting, but I stopped.  I was so worried that…”

The thought was left unfinished as the blonde intertwined her fingers with the with flesh one’s near her.  “I get you… and I know what you’re about to say, it’s just-”

The blonde paused, gathering her thoughts before letting them flow before her partner.  “It’s just that I don’t know anymore.  I mean, when I decided to be a huntress, I just thought it was clearing Grimm and investigating crime.  Like Summer did.  It all just sounded so thrilling, but now with the world on the brink and lives being lost…”

The blonde shook her head as soft tears trickled down her cheeks.  “I don’t belong here Blake.  I’m nothing more than a thrill seeker.  I don’t have the capacity to be a hero.”

“Of course you do Yang.”

The blonde refused to respond, leaving the both of them in silence as the ravenette turned and sighed.  “You know I found you in the forest, right?  Back when we were getting split into partners?”

“I would be royally stupid to not figure that one out.”  The blonde deadpanned.  “You showed up way to conveniently for me to believe that you didn’t follow me.”

“That surprise appearance may not have been my most subtle work,” the ravenette admitted as she moved a strand of hair from her face.  “The point is that I found you, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have you as a partner right away.”

“Why, because I called you a ‘lost cause?’”

“No,” the ravenetet deadpanned as she let her gaze settle on the ground.  “I didn’t need you to inform me of that.”

“Blake-”

“The reason I was worried about partnering with you is because you are exactly the kind of person I believe a true hero to be.”

A humorless chuckle escaped the blonde as she turned away.  “Have you not met my sister?”

Amber eyes rolled at the statement.  “Of course I know Ruby and her aspirations to be a hero, but I just feel like she’s a hero in a different way.  Her hope stems from her optimism and innocence.  Two things that I... that I'm not sure of.  That I'm not sure can truly help the world in the ways it needs.  But you were different,” the faunus continued, her gaze remaining locked with the floor as she rewatched the memories that laid themselves bare in front of her.  “You didn’t seem as concerned about becoming a hero, I mean, I didn’t know what your motivations for becoming a huntress were, but that didn’t matter.  Hero or not, you weren’t going to turn your back on helping Ruby when she was having a bad day.”

“She’s my sister.”  The blonde stated flatly as her gaze remained on the floor.  “I have to help, no matter what.”

“I’m not your sister.”  The faunus stated, tilting her head towards the blonde.

“You’re my partner.”  The blonde stated, still refusing to move.

“You still could’ve left me for Ruby to deal with.  She’s our leader after all.”

The blonde hummed, not really placing an opinion on the matter as the ravenette sighed.

“Yang, heroes aren’t just the people who go out in the wild to destroy the monsters that scratch at the kingdoms walls so that people can sleep at night.  There are heroes inside the kingdoms who dedicate every day to ensuring that all the citizens can take part in the ‘peace’ that the kingdoms leaders so adamantly declared we lived in.  That was the kind of hero I wanted to be,” the ravenette admitted as a humorless chuckle escaped her.  “I wanted to be the person who could revolutionize the world and finally create the true peace that the world could exist in, but I got led astray…”

the faunus shook the memories out of her head, refusing to allow them to take root when she was trying to be there for Yang.  “But that’s what makes you different.  You don’t just care about helping the world, but helping the people within it.  Even if the task is super small and many would brush it off as irrelevant.  I know I would’ve considered making friends irrelevant.”

A humorless snicker escaped the blonde.  “You were truly gunning for being loner of the year, weren’t you?”

“I knew the White Fang would likely show up again and my previous involvement with them would endanger anyone who got close to me.”  Amber eyes fell on the metallic hand beside her.  “It would be safer for everyone that way.  I didn’t want the White Fang to find anyone I cared about.”

Silence envolped them as an unnamed tension began to permeate the air, until the blonde's voice echoed throughout the hallway.

“Do you care?”

The faunus blinked a few times before trying to decide the best way to respond.  “I don’t understand what you mean.”

The blonde scratched the back of her head as she humorlessly chuckled and moved to rise from her seat.  “Right, I mean, I should’ve known you wouldn’t really care.”

“Yang!”

The faunus grabbed the metallic hand with both of hers as she pulled the blonde back towards the bench.  “Yang, where did this come from?  What are you talking about.”

“Where did you think it came from?”  The blonde stated flatly as she kept her gaze away from the ravenette.  “You kissed me, remember?”

The faunus’ heart skipped a beat at the memory of it, expecting it to fade away in the haze of confusion and adrenaline that had been dominating her mind.  Her hands fell from the appendage as she sat back in her seat.  “I… yes…”

Time froze for a moment, neither of them daring to break the trance lest it encourage the other to finally go away, trying to find the right move that would keep the world balance in check.

The silence couldn’t last, curiosity overwhelmed the fear.

“Why did you kiss me Yang?”

The blonde tensed before the faunus moved back to grab her hand.  “Yang, I-I’m not upset about it, I’m just confused, I mean…”  The faunus paused as her gaze dropped.  “Where did that come from?”

Silence reigned again as the ravenette swore she could hear a ticking clock somewhere, making her anxious to simply move on to anything that would keep the blonde there.

“I apologize, I shouldn’t pry.  We can just forget about it-”

“It came from being your partner for five months,” the blonde stated softly, shoulders slowly lowering from the admission, keeping her gaze focused in front of her.  “It came from finding you in the forest as you’d roll your eyes at my antics.  It came from you joining in on the shenanigans my sister and I would create to make decorating feel more lively.  It came from watching you run away and spending twelve hours searching for you with Weiss, because you being a faunus shouldn’t keep us from being a team.  It came from watching you avoid us as you kept your worries about the White Fang to yourself.  It came from watching you try to save the world from the White Fang on your own.  It came from fighting with you to take care of yourself because I couldn’t watch you hurt anymore.  It came from being able to share a dance with you.  It came from pillow talks in the urban jungle about why we chose our line of work.  It came from being able to sit next to you during the Vytal Festival.  It came from the standing ovation you gave me after I beat Mercury.

It came from the hurt I felt when you said you wanted to believe me.  It came from the fear I felt when I found you in the Beacon cafeteria, and Adam…”

The blonde shook her head.  “I can’t really say when it started.  I just know that I started hanging on to every moment I had of you.”

Lavender orbs turned hesitantly towards the ravenette as the blonde finally faced her.  “And if all of this was nothing more than a lie, than I may as well live it out like a fantasy.”

Amber orbs widened slightly, a soft tear trickling down the faunus’ cheek as she shook her head with a soft smile.

“Blake?”

The faunus rushed into her arms, squeezing tightly as she buried her face in the nook of the blonde’s shoulder.  “Do you really mean it?”  The raventte asked, tone muffled by the blonde’s jacket that she had buried her face in.  “After everything I dragged you into.  After I abandoned you in the middle of it all?  Is that honestly how you feel about me?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true,” the blonde stated softly as she wrapped her arms around the ravenette to hug her tightly.  “I can’t imagine a happily ever after for me if I wasn’t with you.”

A soft, humorless chuckle escaped the ravenette.  “I am so sick of happily ever afters.”  The faunus pulled out of the embrace, tear-stained amber locking with lavender as she placed a soft hand on the warm cheek of the blonde.

“Can we just live happily right now?”  The faunus asked softly.  “I don’t want to think about what comes next before we can get to ever after.”

Tears trickled from lavender orbs as a gloved hand of flesh rested upon the faunus’.  “I’m such a mess right now Blake.”

“I guarantee you I’m as much of a mess as you are, Yang.”  The faunus stated with a soft smile, leaning closer towards the blonde.  “But being with you makes me believe that things can get better.”

“Yeah,” the brawler near whispered as she could taste the faunus’ breath on her lips.  “Same… here…”

The thought ended as they let their lips meet, allowing the gesture to say how they felt for each other.  It wasn’t as desperate this time.  There wasn’t the hurt, or the fear, or any of the anxiety that was present in the first kiss they shared.

This one tasted like hope.

“I certainly hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Both eyes flew open as the two turned to see the petite silverette, tapping her foot impatiently with her arms crossed.  A soft blush rose to the faunus' cheeks that she tried to ignore as she turned towards the latest arrival.  “I apologize, we just got distracted for a moment.  Did you find Emerald?”

“I can speak for myself, you know…” the mintette stated wearily as she stepped further into the hallway, eyes hesitantly turning towards the duo.

“Emerald,”

The blonde stepped past the faunus as she walked towards the illusionist, taking soft steps before she stood before the grand manipulator.

“Look, Yang,” the mintette began as she scratched the back of her head.  “I’m sorry.  If I could take back everything I did for Cinder I swear I would, I just…”

A sigh fell from the thief as she shrugged her shoulders.  “I just didn’t think there was anything else I could do.  I’m sorry Yang.”

The mintette waited.  Waited for the blonde to answer with a scream or a shout or a gun shot or anything.

But none of those things came.

Only the silence answered her.

She began to analyze the blonde, noting her eyes were still lavender was a good sign, but they didn’t seem to be directed at her specifically.

She glanced down, realizing where the gaze had fallen to her forearm before she tried to tuck the wounded appendage away.

“Did I do that?”

The mintette shook her head quickly as she let her other hand rest on her behind her head.  “No!  Of course you didn’t do that.  Didn’t you know that flesh wounds are contagious within the body.  You know, like when Mercury grazed my upper arm, my forearm decided to get injured too so that it wouldn’t be alone.  Definitely nothing to do with you.”

Silence reigned again as the mintette berated herself at her attempt at deflecting with humor.  That had never been her forte, she honestly should’ve just told the truth for once.

But then the blonde began to chuckle.

“You know Em,” the blonde stated as she shook her head.  “You are definitely the shittiest liar I have ever met.”

The mintette paused.  Unsure about the reaction before she let a chuckle of her own escape her.  “You know Yang, you’re the first person to ever say that about me.”

“Really, nah, I don’t believe that either.”  The blonde stated with a soft smirk remaining on her face.

The smile faded from the mintette as she dropped her gaze.

“Can you believe me if I told you that you didn’t actually hurt Mercury?”

A pause settled over the room as no one dared to interrupt the moment, the atmosphere seeming like an egg on a tight rope that could shatter in an instant if a single wrong move were made.

Still, the mintette had to press on.

“Yang, Mercury got his prosthetic legs before we even arrived at Beacon.  We couldn’t have him seriously injured in case we needed him for the invasion, so he was simply an easy decoy that we could use.  And then when we went to the hideout and found Blake…  What I’m trying to say is that you never hurt anyone Yang…”  The mintette paused as she wrapped a hand around the edge of the bandage on her forearm.  “At least, you haven’t hurt anyone who hasn’t deserved it.”

The blonde shook her head as she took a step closer, placing herself directly in front of the minttete.  “Em, just because I was angry doesn’t mean I have the right to attack you like that, regardless of what may have happened in the past.”

The blonde wrapped her arms around the slender woman, who froze from the contact.  “Yang-?”

“I’m glad you came back Emerald,” the blonde stated as she squeezed tighter.  “I’m sorry that I lashed out at you.  I promise, I’m working to get better.”

The mintette slowly relaxed at the words as she let them sink into her soul.  It didn’t matter which side of the battlefield they may have been on during the battle of Beacon, there was at least that one thing that connected them all.  She slowly allowed her arms to encircle the blonde.  “We’re all trying to get better Yang.  It’s all we can do right now.”

“Well,” the silverette announced as she steadily stepped back into view.  “Glad _that’s_ all been taken care of, but now that we’re all here we should really come up with a way to help Ruby.”

“There’s no need,” the faunus stepped in as all heads snapped to her.  “She woke up not too long ago.”

“You’re going to need to see her.”  The blonde stated solemnly as her eyes hardened over with determination.  “You need to tell her the truth.”

“I…” the mintette paused, uncertain as to how to respond to the tone.  “What about you?”

The blonde gave a light shrug as she turned her gaze back to the faunus.  “I don't know about everyone else, but I'm going to bed.”

Red eyes widened as the mintette turned back towards the blonde.  “You seriously trust me with your sister?  After everything I’ve done?”

The blonde shrugged slightly as she averted her gaze.  “I’m leaving it up to Ruby to decide that.”

A pause settled as the mintette let the true meaning behind words sink in.

“Right…”

The mintette let out a sigh as she dropped her gaze to the floor.  She knew this day would be coming up sooner or later.

“Weiss, do you mind joining us upstairs?”  The faunus asked politely.  “We need to fill you in on what’s happened.”

“That would be _much_ appreciated.”  The heiress responded as she began to follow the faunus towards the hotel stairs, the blonde lingering slightly behind.

“I hope things go well between you and my sister.  I wish you luck.”

A humorless chuckle escaped the mintette as she stared at the blonde’s back.  “Isn’t luck your uncle’s thing?”

A soft smirk scratched at the blonde’s face as she gave a soft shake of the head.  “You’ve just got something to say about everything, don’t you?”

The mintette gave a shrug.  “Isn’t pointless banter basically a job requirement in our line of work.”

A soft snicker escaped the blonde.  “If that were the case, my sister would be the shittiest huntress around.  Regardless, now is the moment where you really need to decide if this is what you really want.”

“What’s that supposed to mean.”

Shrugged shoulders responded lethargically to the comment.

“You’ll figure it out.  But I’m gunna go to bed.”

“Of course,” the mintette stated softly as she turned her gaze back to the floor, mumbling her parting words incoherently to herself.  The blonde slowly ascended the stairs as the mintette counted every footstep she heard rising towards the upper floor.  Straining to listen to the footsteps above her as she tried to note which room they resided in, in case something went down and she would need to avoid them for an escape.

Of course, there was no need to pay such close attention.  No one could stop her from just walking out the front door.

Still, old habits died hard.

As hard as it would be to finally tell the crimsonette the truth after a lifetime of lies.

She gave a sigh.  Qrow warned her this would happen.  She _knew_ this would happen.

Now she had to own up to her actions.

She slowly walked towards the infirmary, her steps sounding incredibly loud to her as she lethargically made her way to the end of the hall.  Temptation welled within her to simply walk past and head to anywhere else, but she just couldn’t bring herself to.

She cared too much to not at least _try_ to make things right.

She stepped quietly into the infirmary, finding the crimsonette curled softly into the bed, looking as if she could be asleep.

“Ruby?”

The soft voice seemed to echo off the bare white walls as the mintette watched for any sign of movement from the crimsonette in front.  The ex-thief waited for a moment as the team leader laid perfectly still in the bed.

The mintette sighed.  Her room was really Ruby’s room that they shared since they all traded rooms once Blake returned to the team and it just didn’t seem right to return to the room that was shared with her as a favor.  So instead, she moved into the room and took a seat that faced the crimsonette’s back.  “It’s okay, I can wait for you.”

The young leader’s hand clenched as soft tears rolled down her eyes.  “Yang told me you killed Penny.”

The mintette’s mouth opened slightly to retort before it closed slowly as she averted her gaze.  “Yeah... I did.”

A pause settled between them as soft sniffles escaped from the crimsonette.

“She also said you, were the reason that she attacked Mercury.”

A sigh escaped from the mintette as she shook her head lightly.  “That’s true too.”

Silence returned as the young leader continued to sob into her pillow.  “Why…?” the broken voice asked as more sniffles echoed throughout the room.  “Why would you do that?”

The mintette sighed as she let her gaze linger on the floor between her feet, pondering the reasons why she would cause the crimsonette such heartbreak.

“Because I believed it was my destiny.”

“But-”  The crimsonette began as the tears continued to paint her cheeks.  “Why would you believe it’s your destiny to hurt someone?”

“Because for every destined hero, there is also a destined villain.”

The tears continued to roll downward as the mintette gave a sigh.  “Ruby, there’s something you need to know.  And I’m not going to tell you this to justify what I’ve done or anything, it’s just… this story is important.”

The mintette waited for a response, but the crimsonette remained stone still.  She released a sigh as she turned her gaze towards the side, more to distract herself than anything.  “You already know the story of the two brothers, right?”  The thief asked rhetorically.  “How there was one of light and one of darkness who were constantly battling each other with their creations until they banded together to create humans?”

The mintette paused, dropping her gaze back to the floor.  “The story says that it was after the younger brother had created the Grimm, creatures that shared his innate desire to destroy, that the older brother had finally decided that they should work together on a final creation that they could make together.”

The thief shook her head lightly as she moved to sit back up.  “There’s debate about the order of events there.”

“Why is that?”

Red orbs widened slightly at the despondent voice, before the mintette recomposed herself to complete the story.  “Have you ever noticed that the Grimm don’t actually destroy everything?  That everywhere they live still have all forms of life, just not human life?”

A slight movement of shoulders was all the response the mintette gained before she continued her story.  “This anomaly made people question the truth behind the story of the two brothers, made them question where the Grimm really came from, and so another story emerged.”

The mintette shook her head as she let her gaze fall again.

“This is the legend of the red eyes.”

She released a sigh as she let the story fold out before her.

“The legend as it’s commonly known states that a long time ago, humans lived together in relative peace amongst their clans, however, there was one amongst them who was disgusted with the peace that the humans had created, and longed for the power to create distress so large amongst the humans, that it would plague them for the entirety of their lives.  And so this person beseeched the god of darkness, arguing that the younger brother had grown soft for allowing the god of light to influence him into creating such a soft willed creature.”

“The younger brother gave a sinister smile, before telling the visitor that he had been waiting to show his ultimate creation, however it required a vessel who had a power that the singular god couldn’t create on their own.  It required a creature with the power of choice to give up their aura to create a living being that would know nothing but destruction.”

“The visitor bowed and offered all that allowed them to be human, so that they may give the god the vessel required to create a creature of ultimate malice.”

“The person was transformed, shifting into a diabolical form that was neither human nor animal, and as the creature began to fully take form, the only thing that the monster retained from their human form was their red eyes.  The eyes that signified a desire for the blood of humanity.”

“It’s not true.”

The soft mumble of the crimsonette wafted in the air, barely audible through the sheets and pillows she’d buried herself in.  The mintette was not so quick to agree.

“Isn’t it though?”  The thief asked, tilting her head slightly to one side.  “You know your uncle’s semblance.  He ends up hurting people, even when he doesn’t mean to.  And Yang’s eyes turn red when she’s at her most violent, and me…”

The mintette paused, shaking her head slightly as she buried it in her arms.  “I can make people see their worst nightmares.”

“Emerald…”

The mintette gave a soft sigh as she sat fully upward.  “For what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry about Penny, about Pyrrha, Yang and everything else at the Vytal Festival.”  She shook her head as she rose slowly.  “I know there’s nothing I can do to make up for it, or to repay your kindness, so-”

“Emerald…”

The crimsonette shuffled out of her bed as she slowly turned her tear-stained face towards the mintette.

“You’re not going away too, are you?”

The mintette could feel the tears prick at the corners of her eyes as she fought desperately to keep them from streaming down her face.  “Ruby-”

“I know you manipulated Pyrrha, and Penny… I know she was killed.”  The crimsonette stated,” I know what happened at the Vytal Festival and who all died from it and whose fault it is and…”

The tears started to stream from silver eyes as the young crimsonette fretted desperately to keep them from falling.  “I can’t lose anyone else because of that day Emerald.  I can’t lose you to that day too.”

Tears fell freely from red eyes as the mintette took a slow step forward.  “Ruby, you don’t get it.  I killed Penny.  She’s dead because of me!”

“No Emerald, you don’t get it.”  The crimsonette stated as she watched her friend with blurred silver eyes.  “There’s nothing I can do to ever get Penny back.  But I don’t have to lose you over it too.”

The tears began to fall as the crimsonette stared at the mintette standing in the doorway.  “Please don’t make me lose you too Emerald.  I don’t want to lose anyone else I care about.”

Tears continued to roll down dark cheeks before a soft hand wiped them away as a smile cracked the mintette’s face.  “You’re such an idiot Ruby.  You’re not supposed to care about the people who hurt people.”

“I don’t care about that, Emerald,” the crimsonette responded as she matched the mintette with an equally broken smile.  “I care about you.”

A humorless chuckle escaped the thief as she walked over and ruffled the shaggy hair of the crimsonette.  “You’re such a jerk.  I mean, look at the mess you’ve made of me, getting me crying and everything.”

“But you’ll forgive me, right?”  The scythe wielder asked in a bittersweet voice.  “You’ll forgive me, and then you’ll stay with the team, and then we’ll beat Salem together and then we’ll live happily ever after…”

A bittersweet smile crossed the mintette’s face as she moved her hand to wipe the tears from the crimsonette’s cheeks.  “I’m the one who should be asking you for forgiveness.”

The crimsonette giggled softly, before she opened her eyes to take in the stricken sight of the mintette.  “Emerald, I know what happened, but even if it was your semblance, I could never find it within myself to blame you for Penny’s death.”  The crimsonette dropped her gaze slightly, taking her cheek away from the dark hand as she wiped her remaining tears away.  “I know you don’t actually want to hurt people.”

“If you say so,” the mintette mumbled softly as she stared down at the floor.

“I know so,” the crimsonette assured with a soft smile cracking her tear-stained face.

The mintette shook her head lightly.  “How can you even be sure of that?”

“Because you’re here Emerald,” The scythe-wielder stated without hesitation.  “Because you’re trying to make a difference.”

A humorless chuckle escaped the mintette.  “That seems to be what gets me in the most trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

The mintette turned, facing glistening silver eyes.  “You know, some people claim there is more to the story about the person who turned into the first Grimm.”

The crimsonette tilted her head.  “I thought you said the first Grimm was a person who wanted to destroy all humanity.”

“I said that’s the commonly known story,” the thief corrected.  “However, when a story comes around that tells people that a human became a Grimm, people begin to wonder what kind of person would choose to become a Grimm.”

The crimsonette hummed in thought before offering a shrug.  “You know, I guess that would be a good question to ask.”

The illusionist gave a soft chuckle.  “Yeah, enough people figured that too.  Of course, historians link the current oppressive system to the creation of the first Grimm.”

The crimsonette responded with a quizzical look as the statement didn’t seem to fully connect to her thoughts.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, the identity of the first Grimm is considered to be the beginning of all racism.  They claimed that because of the dark skin and animalistic features of the Grimm that the original person must have been a black faunus.”  The mintette stated as she turned away.  “Which is what inspired another story.  One that my parents told me when I was very young.”

“What was the story?”

Crimson eyes turned towards silver before a bittersweet smirk crossed the mintette.  “There’s a story that the Grimm wasn’t a person, per se, but it was a person’s pain made manifest.”

The crimsonette shifted slightly, moving to lean closer towards the storyteller.  “How did that happen?”

The illusionist shrugged as she leaned forward.  “It’s unclear what all happened.  The most the story gives is that a slave was treated with so much cruelty that they underwent a pain that was too unbearable for any person to withstand.”

The mintette paused, giving reverence to the next part of the story.  “The person died, but before they passed they beseeched the gods with their last breath.  ‘Please,’ the dying slave said, ‘grant me the chance to take away the negativity that is spread throughout this world.  Grant me the power to prevent the people from destroying themselves with their cruetly.’”

“And so the first Grimm was born, made from the pain, loneliness, anger, depression.  Everything that the Grimm feed off of, targeting all the negativity that it was created to destroy.”

“So,” the crimsonette interrupted, face scrunched slightly to better think through the implication of the story.  “The Grimm weren’t created to destroy life, but instead the Grimm were created to destroy the negativity that would destroy life?”

“That’s what that story claims at least,” the mintette deadpanned as she gave a casual shrug.

“Well, if that’s the case, then what would happen if no one ever felt any negative emotion?”

“I don’t know,” the mintette admitted, clasping her hands in her lap as she stared down into them.  “Some say they’ll simply disappear, others say they’ll simply be like other wildlife that exist on the outskirts of the kingdoms.  All they know is that, if this story is true, the surest way to stop the fighting between the Grimm and the kingdoms is to find peace within ourselves.”

The crimsonette turned to stare at the floor by where the crimson gaze had lingered.  “I’d never heard that story before.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me,” the mintette deadpanned as she leaned back to stare at the ceiling.  “It was a tale they’d tell on the fields though.  A way to remind people that we had to stay in good spirits lest it attracted the Grimm.  My mother would always remind me of the story whenever I got scared.”

“Do you still believe that story?”

A humorless chuckle escaped the mintette as she rolled her eyes towards the scythe-wielder.  “It didn’t matter whether I believed it or not.  I didn’t need to worry about ‘keeping my spirits up’ to save myself from the Grimm once I was within the kingdom.  That’s what the kingdom’s walls are for.  Besides…” the mintette paused as she stared blank tile at her feet.  “The only way to prove it right now, would be to create absolute peace, and I’ve been around long enough to know that that’s never going to happen.”

“Then let’s make it happen.”

A green eyebrow rose towards the young leader as the mintette gave the most incredulous look she could muster.  “You can’t be serious Ruby, do you realize how dependent all the kingdom’s infrastructure is on the oppressive system?  Do you understand the food and dust shortages that would plague the world?  It’s not going to happen.”

“I don’t believe that Emerald!”  The crimsonette announced as she turned fully towards the mintette.  “We can find a way to fix this, to stop the Grimm forever by re-creating this world in a way so that no one will ever have to suffer.”

“Do you even hear yourself right now?”  The mintette asked as she leaned back.  “The world’s already figure itself out, we’re not going to be able to change it.”

“Then I will!”  The crimsonette announced as she grabbed the mintette’s hand.  “I will do everything I can to make a better world for you!”

Silver eyes sparkled with promise as the crimsonette held the dark hand in front of her.  “Anything, for your happily ever after.”

Red eyes turned incredulously towards the crimsonette, before retreating once more to give a humorless chuckle.  “You know, you’re almost as unreal as the tales people entertain themselves with these days.”

“I’m okay with that,” the young leader responded.  “If it takes someone unreal to create the happily ever after you deserve, then I can live with being unreal.”

The mintette shook her head as the smile on her face refused to leave her face.  “You do realize we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“I know,” the crimsonette stated returning the phrase with a soft smile.  “But still, it reminds me what of I’m fighting for.  Besides, everything’s going to be okay because you’re going to be helping us… right?”

A soft chuckle escaped the mintette who turned to give a friendly smile.  “Of course, I’ll stick around Ruby.  I… I’ve actually grown to like being here.”

“Really?!”

“Of course Ruby,” the mintette stated as she ruffled crimson hair.  “I wouldn’t have stuck around as long as I did if I didn’t enjoy being around here.”

The reaper giggled lightly at the antic as her silver eyes turned back towards the mintette, a soft blush crossing her cheeks as she returned to the sight of the illusionist.

“Got something on your mind?”

The crimsonette averted her gaze as she absentmindedly combed her fingers through her hair.  “Oh, uh, it’s nothing…” the leader ended awkwardly as she mumbled to herself.  “It’s nothing…”

The thief shook her head softly as a soft chuckle escaped her.  “A word of advice Ruby,” the soft voice began as a dark hand moved to cup the crimsonette’s cheek.  “If there’s something you feel strongly about, then act on it.”  Her face came closer, as the young leader’s eyes fluttered closed.

“Otherwise, you may just spend your life regretting it.”

The young leader paused, anxiously awaiting the completion of the gesture that would make all her ridiculous bumblings feel less ridiculous.

That moment never came.

Silver fluttered open as the crimsonette blanched at the mintette’s absence.  “Gyah, Emerald!  Where are you going?”

“Hm?”  The mintette questioned as red eyes turned innocently towards the young leader.  “I’m going to bed, don’t you know how late it is?”

“Whuh, buh, I mean… Wait Emerald!”

The crimsonette rushed forth in a flurry of rose petals, rushing out of the infirmary and into the hallway where she blocked the mintette’s path.  “Wait, Emerald, I still need to tell you-”

The mintette placed a dark finger against pale lips as she leaned close to whisper.  “You don’t need to tell me Ruby, I already know.”

“Wait,” the crimsonette breathed as she blushed a deep shade of red.  “You mean…”

“Yes Ruby,” the mintette stated softly.  “But that doesn’t matter anymore.  What matters now, is what you want to do in relation to those feelings.”

“I…” the young leader averted her gaze, determining how she wanted to respond to the knowledge that her apparently not-so-well kept secret was out.  Silver turned back to crimson as the reaper came up with her answer.  “I want to be a part of your happily ever after.”  The crimsonette hugged one of her elbows as she turned her gaze elsewhere.  “If you’ll allow me that is.”

The mintette grabbed the pale chin as she planted a soft peck to the younger woman’s lips.  “I can live with that.”

The thief moved forward, leaving behind the frozen crimsonette in her wake.

“In any case, we’d better get our rest.  With Mercury showing up, Haven’s definitely in danger and we’ll need to be prepared for wauh-”

A soft giggle came from the crimsonette who had just glomped the mintette as red eyes turned to glare at the young leader before a smile cracked her composure while she rolled her eyes.  “Come on Ruby, I was serious about the getting rest thing.”

“I know,” the crimsonette stated as she tightened her grip around the mintette’s shoulders.  “I just wanted to make sure you knew that I was glad you were back.”

Soft hands slowly rose to rest on the arms that embraced her as the mintette closed her eyes.  “Thanks Ruby… I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course,” the scythe-wielder whispered before relinquishing her hold.  “And I promise, I’ll do whatever it takes for our happily ever after.”

The mintette chuckled slightly as she walked up the stairs with the crimsonette in tow.  “I know you will.”

The crimsonette beamed back as they moved up the stairs, coming face to face with a certain blonde knight.

“Emerald…”

The mintette paused, fully facing the young leader that had been waiting for them.  “Hey Jaune… is there something I can do for you?”

Broad shoulders shrugged as he took a defensive stance.  “Not really.  I was just thinking.”

The crimsonette stepped between the tow, slowly approaching her friend.  “Jaune-”

“I still haven’t decided if I’ll forgive you for what happened with Pyrrha,” the blonde stated lowly as he gave a glare.  “But I also know we need all the help we can get.”

Silence enveloped the trio as they waited for a break in the tension.  Eventually the blonde sighed.  “A part of me wants to ask you why she killed Pyrrha, just to see if Weiss was right, but I know it wouldn’t make any sense to me anyway.”

The mintette shifted her gaze as she hugged one of her elbows.  “There’s a lot in this world that doesn’t make sense, but we're trying to fix that… right?”

“If you say so,” the blonde stated with a shrug.  “I just, wanted to see if I should forgive you or not.”

The two women turned towards each other as the blonde opened his room door before the crimsonette called out.  “Wait, Jaune!”

“Don’t worry Ruby.  I’ve decided my answer.  Have a good night.”

The door closed behind him as the crimsonette stared at the bare wood, the mintette coming up to hug her from behind.  “Things’ll be okay, Ruby.  Everyone’s just tired right now.”

“Yeah,” the crimsonette stated softly before she gave a quiet yawn.  “But things are getting better, right?”

“As better as they can be,” the mintette responded, voice drifting with fatigue.  “As better as they can be.”

The crimsonette turned to get to their shared room, opening the door as the mintette followed.

“Say, Ruby?”

“Hm…”

The crimsonette turned towards the mintette who had taken a seat on her bed.

“Do you think I would be able to go attend a combat school?”

The crimsonette bounced to sit next to the mintette as she let her hand rest on the ex-thief’s.  “Well, I hear they’re rebuilding Vale, which means they’d probably try to rebuild the combat school there.  Maybe once this is all figured out we can go back to attending.”

A humorless chuckle escaped the mintette as she laid back against the bed.  “I thought you would find school dull after all this adventuring.”

“I’d still need to get licensed as a proper huntress,” the crimsonette pouted as she leaned back next to the mintette.  “But hey, at least we could go to school together.”

A humorless chuckle escaped the mintette as red eyes locked onto silver.  “I’m so glad I came back.”

“Yeah,” the crimsonette agreed snuggling closer to the woman next to her.  “Me too.”

They shared a kiss as the mintette swore to herself that things would get better.  That they wouldn't be dictated by the tales of their forefathers.

They had their own story to create.

And their story would bring about a better world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random bit of trivia, I was originally planning on titling this chapter The Redest Eye, inspired by Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, but it didn't seem to fit the motive of the characters is to move past given identities instead of succumbing to them. Anyways, thanks again so much for staying with me for so long! For anyone who's interested, I am planning on writing another RWBY fic, with this one focusing more on Ilia's backstory. I'm hoping to have the first chapter posted within the month or early November, but be sure to look forward to it if your interested in more RWBY. In any case, thanks so much for your continued support! Feel free to drop a comment on what you think and I hope you'll continue to support these fics!
> 
> EsseR3xinaLives

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, this dialogue was mostly spurred on by my burning desire for Emerald to NOT be working for Cinder anymore. Seriously, I spent so long trying to find a way to write Emerald's character in a way I hoped was befitting of her without making her follow the stereotypical slave mentality that she appears to have in the series, following CInder's every order and even going above and beyond to please Cinder. I hope that I wrote Emerald's character in a way that dignified her as a person, and I will gladly take any criticisms on where I may have failed in that goal. This fic was also inspired by the fact that, although I find it cool that they discuss oppression between the faunus and humans, they don't discuss any other kinds of oppression. For instance, Professor Port clicks his tongue at Yang in the first volume, then shows up at her house in Volume 4? That's such a breach of a professional teacher-student relationship. Why is it that the only black characters with lines in the entire show are Emerald and Flynt? Sage is a part of Team SSSN and Fox is a part of Team CFVY and yet they practically exist as background characters while others on their teams act as side characters. Also, what about Emerald's background as a thief, or Flynt's father's dust shop being run out of business? They almost imply an economic disparity without stating racism as being an issue in the world of Remnant, which is what also inspired this story. I also wasn't a big fan of the whole "silver eyes" story, and thought that could become a backdrop to another kind of oppression since Remnant follows a hero and monster binary. Raven, Qrow and Emerald all have red eyes, which are a physical trait held by Grimm. If Silver eyes are the hero, there must be a villain, or maybe I'm going to deep into Hegel's dialectic. Anyways, outside of Emerald I just wanted to see more angst out of the characters. It was hard watching the series and feeling like I was grieving more than any of the characters and I literally binge watched the first three volumes in a week and felt more grief than characters that spent perhaps a year at that school with Pyrrha and Penny. Last note is that yes, I do think that RoosterTeeth have a lot of places where they can improve, but I also love the series enough that it's all I talk about and write fanfics about. Heck, it's the reason I started writing fanfics. Regardless, if anyone wants to comment their thoughts on what they want to see post-canon or theories that may contradict the canon series but would make for an interesting dynamic, comment here. I love hearing what others think will or should happen in the series and sharing my own thoughts on the show... kinda like I am here. Anyways, thanks so much for reading and look forward to more installments of Aftermath of Autumn.


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